


I trust you

by Van_ess_a



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Complete, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gryffindor Eren Yeager, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, Slytherin Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), floaty hearts au, well a mention of the floaty hearts au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-07-14 21:29:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 47,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16048925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Van_ess_a/pseuds/Van_ess_a
Summary: Eren walks into potions class and has two horrible realizations: 1) He forgot his textbook, and 2) A terrifying new Slytherin boy is sitting at his table.It's going to be a long school year.(Story update(d) every Thursday!)





	1. Chance meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This one won't have any smut and it will be a bit of a slow burn, if you're not up for that. But if you want fluff, oh boy does this have fluff. Thanks for reading!

“Potions next, right?” Eren asked. He and Armin were walking down the halls of Hogwarts, stacks of books towering in their hands. The halls were packed with other students, a few teachers interspersed in the crowds to moderate, usually tasked with yelling at kids to “cut it out!” no matter what they’re doing. Armin and Eren muscled through on their way to the dungeons, trying to keep their books from being knocked out of their hands.

“Yep,” Armin mumbled. “With Snape.”

Eren wrinkled his nose. “And the Slytherins.”

Both he and Armin had been sorted into the Gryffindor house, and as such, they had a natural born rivalry (and borderline hatred) for the Slytherins. Eren and Armin never bought into it too much, but the Slytherins they did know were usually less than polite to them, especially because they were Gryffindors. They had kept their hopes up, though, to their credit.

 “We have a minute until the class starts. I would rather not go in there until I absolutely have to,” Armin said, pulling them to the side so they were just to the left of the door.

“We should wait for Mikasa, anyways.” Eren craned his neck in a half-hearted attempt to see down the hall. It was always swarming with people during passing periods, so there was no way he would be able to pick out Mikasa from the crowd.

Armin shifted his books onto one arm, scanning the titles. He pulled out his potions book right as Eren smacked his forehead. “Shit! I forgot my potions book!”

Armin laughed. “You can borrow mine. We sit next to each other, anyways.”

Eren smiled thankfully, but he noticed a certain person walking over to them. “Ah, Mikasa?”

“Eren, I forgot my book. We should share,” She said, blunt as ever.

Eren felt the panic begin to set in. “Hold on. Armin’s book doesn’t split three ways.” Mikasa arched an eyebrow. “I forgot my book too.”

“We need to figure this out, and fast,” Armin murmured. “Class starts in less than a minute!”

“Get in, we’ll figure it out in there,” Eren said, wrenching open the door to the dungeon and ushering the two inside. If he seemed panicked, he was. Snape would never forgive a student of his not having a potions book, and any mistake would lead to an automatic deduction. And, depending on the house of the student (because the fact that Snape favored one house over the other was thinly veiled, if hidden at all) the point deduction could range from three to fifteen points.

So yeah, Eren panicked a little bit. Snape was terrifying.

They shuffled through the door, and Armin froze.

Eren glanced over his shoulder. “Armin? Is something wrong?”

Armin grabbed Eren’s arm and dragged him to the back of the class, Mikasa in toe. “Who is that? And why is he in our seat?” Armin asked in a harsh whisper.

Eren looked over to where they usually sat. A pale boy with black hair sat there, looking bored, his chin resting in his hand as he looked towards the front of the room. He wore the Slytherin house colors, but Eren swears he’s never seen the boy before.

Damn, he looked menacing.

“Should we ask him to move…?”

Armin shook his head frantically. “I’m out. I can barely answer a question when Snape asks me.”

“How about I sit next to him?” Eren whispered. “You two sit somewhere else and split your book for today.”

“You don’t have your book, either,” Mikasa pointed out.

Eren glanced back at the Slytherin boy, gulping. “…I’ll make do?” Way to sound confident, Jaeger.

Snape rapped on the desk at the front of the room. “In your seats, everyone,” He called in his usual drawl that used to put students to sleep until they learned of the true terror of Snape’s wrath. He was widely feared, second only to Ms. McGonagall.

Eren turned away from his friends, feeling altogether like he was marching off to war. He crossed the room to his seat, setting down his books with a thud. “Is… anyone sitting here?” Eren asked.

The boy shook his head. Talkative. Eren slowly slid into his seat, nervous beyond all reason. The boy had thin eyes that were cold and calculating, like he was reading Eren's every move, and could see through the Gryffindor with ease. His hair was jet black and styled in an undercut, only adding to his harsh appearance and setting Eren even more on edge

The boy’s gaze flicked over to him, an eyebrow arching slightly. Eren instantly shot his gaze back forward, watching Snape organize his desk and fight down the blush rising in his cheeks. He had been caught staring at the kid. Ugh, embarrassing and awkward.

Snape cleared his throat once everyone was seated. “Today we’ll be going over basic potions.” He prayed to any possible deity out there that they didn’t need their books. If they did, he would be royally fucked.

“Get out your textbooks.”

_Fuck._

He glared angrily at the table. He should’ve sat with Armin. Mikasa would have handled this situation without a second thought; that girl wasn’t afraid of anything.

The boy took out his book and set it on the table. He paused a moment, then looked over at Eren. “He said to get out your books,” He repeated, as if Eren hadn’t heard.

Eren blushed with even more embarrassment. “I forgot mine,” He mumbled, returning to glaring at the table as if it was the one that made him lose his textbook.

The Slytherin boy paused. Please, please don’t laugh. From Eren’s past experiences with Slytherins, they would usually laugh, then mock him, then tell Snape. Then a whopping 15 points would be deducted from Gryffindor. _Again._

Eren blinked as a book appeared in front of him. “We’ll share,” The boy said, sliding the book over. “That’ll be easiest.”

Eren stared at the book, then the boy’s face, searching for a smirk or _something_. The boy just turned back towards the front of the room, looking bored once again. Eren glanced between the book and the boy one more time before stammering out, “Th- thank you.”

The boy made a “tch” sound, not bothering to look over at Eren. “Remember your book next time.”

There’s the Slytherin personality Eren was used to. Although, this boy didn’t seem so bad. He was much quieter than some of the other Slytherins, and while he wasn’t exactly dripping sunshine and impeccable manners, he wasn’t being particularly mean. He was leaps and bounds nicer than most. Eren’s had his books slapped out of his hands before, along with various things being thrown at him (“on accident”).

And alongside that were some things that were… worse.

The boy glanced at him and Eren realized he was staring again. He turned back to Snape, who had been talking the whole time he had spaced out.

They were to make a simple potion that changes an objects color. Easy enough.

They were partway through the prep when he realized the boy was constantly checking the book. Snape had hammered this into their heads over and over again to the point that Eren could probably do it with his eyes closed, but the boy looked like he’d never done it before.

Eren put his head down, focusing on his work. He would rather not be caught staring again.

Soon enough their potion had finished and was set aside to steep. Eren glanced over at the boy, gathering his courage. “I’ve never seen you before. Are you new?”

The boy nodded. “Today’s my first day.” Eren frowned. He’d never heard of anyone joining Hogwarts late.

He decided not to press, and looked back to their bubbling cauldron. “It’s nice to meet you. My name’s Eren Jaeger.”

“Levi,” The boy said.

Eren looked him over. Levi _._ It suited him.

He debated talking more, but Levi was still menacing as all hell. He turned his attention back to Snape.

He had to admit it to himself – Levi was intriguing. His looks made it seem like he could take you out in one blow, but he was quiet, and he didn’t talk any more than necessary. In some ways he reminded Eren of Mikasa, but Mikasa would gladly beat the shit out of someone. Levi seemed like every move was intentional, all planned out with the utmost care.

Eren jolted when the bell rang. He had completely lost track of time. He turned to Levi as the Slytherin put his stuff away, his mouth running off before his brain did. “Thank you for letting me borrow your book!” He cringed immediately after from how rushed he sounded.

Levi nodded, picking up his books and leaving.

Eren watched him head up the steps and out the door before snapping out of his daze. He grabbed his stuff and shuffled over to Mikasa and Armin.

“You survived!” Armin cheered. “At one point he looked like he was going to murder you.”

“I think he just looks like that,” Eren laughed, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. “He _did_ let me borrow his book, though.”

“He saved your life.” Armin smiled.

Mikasa stepped up and motioned to the door. “We’re going to be late.”

Eren nodded to the pair, situating his books in his arms and already stepping towards the doors. “Alright. I’ll see you guys later.”

As Eren marched out into the hall, he caught another glimpse of Levi further down, nearly hidden in the mass of people.

He wondered if he’d keep sitting with Levi for the rest of the year. He definitely didn’t have the courage to ask Levi to move, Gryffindor bravery be damned. And he knew Armin would never ask him to move, much less _speak_ to Levi.

He found himself smiling, although he wasn’t quite sure why.

Sitting next to Levi didn’t seem so bad.

**~~~**

Levi looked into the large double doors that lead into the mess hall. It was swarming with people, filling the long tables to the brim. He watched as stray hands or sleeves knocked crumbs to the floor or spilled drops of cider onto the table. He couldn’t stand anything dirty. He hates dirty things so much that he works incredibly hard to keep himself and his surrounding impeccable.

So there was no _way_ he was going to eat in there.

He scanned the tables for a way to grab food and retreat to his room with as little contact as possible. All he found was more and more messes.

He jolted when someone careened into him. “Oi! Walk with your eyes open!”

A boy whirled around, a string of apologies already falling from his mouth. Levi recognized him as the one from his potions class, the kid who sat next to him and who forgot his book. What was his name again?

He blinked, looking like he finally realized who he bumped into. “Oh, Levi!”

Shit he knows Levi's name. Levi arched an eyebrow, hoping the boy didn’t expect him to remember his name.

“Come on, Eren, Jean’ll put bread crumbs in our drinks again if we don’t hurry,” A blonde boy said, tugging on the other boy’s arm. Eren. Thank you, blonde brat.

Eren frowned, glancing over at Levi before returning to looking at the blonde. “I’ll be there in just a minute. Save me a seat?”

The boy frowned, but he nodded. The girl standing behind him looked Eren up and down once before following after the blonde kid.

Eren then looked back to Levi. “Is everything okay? You’ve been standing here for a while.”

Levi glanced over the tables again. “I want food.”

Eren tilted his head. “You know you can just… walk in, right?”

“And touch that shitty table? No.”

Eren frowned, looking very confused. “Shitty…?”

Levi glared at the Slytherin table, and all the tables around it. “They’re filthy.”

“Wait, this is your second day,” Eren wondered. “What did you eat yesterday?”

Levi’s lip curled when someone knocked over a glass of some bright orange liquid. “I didn’t.”

Eren snorted. “Wow, you really like being clean, huh?”

Levi narrowed his eyes, glaring at Eren. “Tch. I’ll just go back to my room.” He’s gone longer than two days without food before. He’ll fare just fine.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Eren caught Levi’s sleeve before he could walk away. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

Levi pulled his sleeve out of Eren’s grasp. “I’ll be going.”

“No, wait!” Eren scrambled to grab his sleeve again but missed by a mile. Luckily, Levi decided to have mercy on him and stop. Eren jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “I can make you a plate of food and bring it back here. Then you won’t have to touch the… shitty tables.”

Levi raised an eyebrow. “…Sure.”

“What do you want?” Eren asked, a bright smile lighting up his whole face. He had one of those smiles that could light a dark room.

“Whatever you get will be fine,” Levi said, looking Eren over once more.

Eren nodded, somehow smiling brighter. “I’ll be right back.”

Levi sighed, watching Eren disappear among the other students. It had been near insanity joining this school. He didn’t even know he was a wizard until a few months ago, around when he turned fifteen. Apparently, the letter had been almost four years late, but there were circumstances that prevented him from receiving it.

Then he was supposed to join at the start of the school year, but then even more “circumstances” came up. His life felt like one long circumstance at this point.

Either way, he had joined Hogwarts four and a half years late and was in a mad rush to catch up with all the other students, which was no easy task, seeing as all of the students had been practically raised doing magic. Even though he’d never even tried proper magic before now, he had been put in fourth year classes and left to fend for himself.

Luckily it came semi-naturally to him. In his two days of attendance most of his teachers had praised him in some way. He assumed it was because he had missed a few years and was good for a beginner.

Eren tromped up the stairs, a plate heaped with food in hand. “Does this look alright?” Eren asked, holding it out.

Levi nodded, accepting the plate. Eren handed him an empty cup. Levi looked it over, raising an eyebrow.

“You tell it what you want to drink, and it’ll fill up with that,” Eren explained.

Levi glanced at the cup, staring at the empty bottom. “I see.”

Eren fidgeted for a moment before turning on his heel. “Well, enjoy.”

Levi waved to him. “Thanks, brat.”

Eren hesitated a moment, before nodding and continuing down the stairs. Levi looked at the cup in his hand, running his fingers over the surface. “You just… talk to it?” He mumbled to himself.

He leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Black tea.”

His eyes widened as the cup filled with steaming hot black tea. He took a small sip. It was just like how he made it back at home.

He felt like someone was staring at him. He looked out at the steps to the dining hall to see Eren watching him, gazing at him like he was in a daze. As soon as Levi met his eyes he blushed bright red, turning away and stumbling the rest of the way down the stairs.

Levi smiled slightly. He quickly controlled his expression.

Damn brat’s smile is contagious.

**~~~**

Eren handed Levi his plate of food. They’d established a system over the course of a week – Eren gets a plate of food and carries it back to Levi, no questions asked. Eren didn’t mind, much to his own surprise. He and Levi never spoke much, and sometimes the whole exchange was entirely silent, so Eren could barely call them acquaintances. He definitely felt a bit… friendlier, with Levi. He was still terrified to have a full conversation with the boy, but he was gaining his courage.

Levi nodded and took the plate. Another silent exchange. Eren wasn’t in a talkative mood today, so he didn’t mind.

He turned on his heel and headed down the stairs, back towards his table. Since his deal with Levi, he’s noticed more and more messes at the table. Even now he could see a bread roll tumble to the ground from the Hufflepuff table. Levi would be mortified. Luckily his friends were clean (well, clean enough) when they ate.

He sat down next to Armin, across from Mikasa.

Armin smiled at him, but it seemed forced. “Did you give him food again?”

Eren nodded, ignoring Mikasa’s stare by digging into his pumpkin pie. “He should thank you,” Mikasa sniffed. She had made it very clear that she did _not_ like Levi.

“He does,” Eren replied. Well, a nod counts, right?

Mikasa sniffed again, looking away. “You need to be careful around him, Eren.”

“What? Why?”

“He’s a Slytherin,” Mikasa growled. “They’re always planning something.”

Eren furrowed his eyebrows. “But-”

“She’s right, Eren,” Armin interrupted. “He could be trying to lure you into a trap. You know how Slytherins are, with their elaborate pranks. You have to be careful.”

“But Levi wouldn’t-”

“It might not be just Levi. The other Slytherins could be getting him to do it.” Armin nodded to the Slytherin table across the room.

Eren clamped his mouth shut. He understood what his friends were saying, but… Levi wouldn’t do that. If it was a trap, wouldn’t Levi have been trying to get him to do something? Or at least _talk_ to him?

And, judging by Levi’s quiet demeanor, Eren doubted he spoke much with the other Slytherins. He just didn’t seem like the type to try and trick Eren.

Eren angrily shoveled a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

Levi wouldn’t do that.

…

_Right?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the biggest smile on my face writing this entire chapter  
> I hope you guys enjoy it!

Levi sat in the school library, thumbing through _“Trolls, Goblins, and more!”_ to research more about… _whatever_ this world is. He was new to the wizarding world, and as such, he had no idea what most things were.

The book wasn’t making it easy, though. The pictures would move, as all pictures seemed to be doing lately, and a few pictures of creatures with claws or swords would scratch through the pages and leave a tiny slash on his finger.

Now he knows the true meaning of paper cut.

He had taken to gingerly holding the book by the outer edges to avoid being shanked by a tiny knight. A girl and a boy walked by his little table nook, giggling and blushing and clearly flirting with each other. Levi ignored them, turning back to the gripping page on Grindylows. Quite literally. The Grindylow had grabbed onto his thumb and refused to let go.

“Oh…”

Levi glanced up to see Eren standing at the end of the bookcases around the nook. Levi gave him a small wave and returned to his book, resting his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand.

Eren mumbled a quick “Hi, Levi” before going about his business. He ran his hand over the spines of the books, murmuring something to himself.

Levi let out a sigh as Eren set down his book. He felt a bit more comfortable with someone he knew around.

Eren took a book off the shelf and set it on the table.

“Ah- ah…”

Eren frowned, but continued looking over the books. Levi ignored the sound completely.

“Mmm- ah…”

The high-pitched whimpers were soon followed by the sounds of vigorous kissing.

Eren blushed bright red, glancing over at Levi. Levi looked up at him deliberately, then looked back to his book. He had assumed that the couple would start making out back there when they walked by, and he’s seen enough that it doesn’t really phase him anymore.

Eren, however, was grinning with embarrassment. One of them was moaning with a high voice, but Levi honestly couldn’t tell if it was the boy or the girl.

Eren looked awkwardly over his shoulder at Levi. He had pressed a hand over his mouth, barely holding in embarrassed giggles.

Levi could feel his lips twist up in a small smile. He was right; the brat’s smile really was contagious.

Eren slipped his hand away from his mouth, his teeth biting into his lip to try and stop him from cracking up. He looked so embarrassed to the point of laughter.

“W-wait, someone could hear,” The girl whispered.

Yep. He and Eren could hear them loud and clear.

“No one’s around, it’s okay.”

Eren snorted, but luckily it was with a perfectly timed moan. Levi met Eren’s eyes, almost a full smile playing on his lips. It’s been a long time since he’d smiled so much.

Eren set down a book on the table, careful not to make a noise.

“Wh-what if someone comes?”

Eren grinned at Levi. _“What if you do first?”_ he mouthed.

Eren covered his mouth to stifle another giggle when someone moaned, like they were responding to Eren’s question. There was a thumping sound as someone presumably pinned the other person to the ground, followed up by more kissing and moaning. Levi curled his finger to beckon Eren over.

Levi took out his wallet and motioned for Eren to lean down. “You’re tall,” Levi whispered into Eren’s ear. “Do me a favor, would you?”

Eren’s brilliant eyes darted to Levi’s hands, a mischievous smile creeping over his face.

“Toss this over for me, would you?” Levi murmured. He pressed a small plastic wrapper into Eren’s palm, giving Eren a sly look.

Eren stifled a laugh. “Why, of course,” He whispered, glancing in the direction of the couple.

He wound up as Levi closed his book and grabbed Eren’s books as well. Then, Eren threw the condom up into a perfect arc, like a bird in flight, right over the bookcase.

“Hey! What was that?”

“And now-” Levi shoved Eren’s books into the Gryffindor’s arms. “-we run.”

Eren got a hold on his books and sprinted between the bookcases, hot on Levi’s heels. Levi ducked and weaved between the cases with ease, making his way towards the front of the library and away from the couple. Once they were on the opposite side of the library they finally stopped to catch their breath.

Eren was doubled over with his hands on his knees, his chest heaving, but a smile on his face. He started to laugh, the smile on his face growing even bigger. “Oh my god, that was great.”

Levi smiled slightly at him. He hadn’t smiled in what felt like forever, so it kind of looked like he had a momentary muscle spasm, but Eren just looked even happier.

They heard angry footsteps coming closer. Eren’s eyes widened, but Levi had already sat down on the floor to resume reading. Eren followed suit, running his finger over the books like he had been there the whole time.

A boy with messy hair rounded the corner. “Hey! Did one of you throw a condom?!” He asked, voice shaking with reigned in anger.

Eren turned his face so the boy couldn’t see his expression, then winked at Levi. Then he turned back to the boy with a look of total, exaggerated confusion on his face. “A what?”

The boy faltered slightly. “A condom?”

Eren tilted his head. “What’s that?” He asked, his face perfectly morphing into one of even move confusion. Levi buried his nose in his book to try and hide his smile. Fucking hell, Eren’s expression was perfect.

“You don’t… know what a condom is?” The boy looked at Eren with an incredulous expression.

“No… should I?” Eren was selling it _hard._

“I- you know what? Ask your parents.” The boy turned on his heel and speed walked away, right as Eren’s façade started to crack and he began to giggle. Levi could see the boy’s ears turning pink from embarrassment.

As soon as he left Eren snickered, laughing as quietly as he could. He held his hand out towards Levi. “I believe a high-five is in order.”

Levi slapped his hand while Eren cheered. Eren glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall, smile dropping. “Oh, I gotta go. Mikasa will kill me if I’m late.”

“See you,” Levi mumbled, turning back to his book for real this time.

Eren picked up his books and left, casting one last look at Levi over his shoulder before rounding the corner of the bookcase. As soon as he was out of sight, Levi closed the book and rested his forehead against the cover.

Maybe this school wasn’t so bad after all. Or maybe someone is just making it a bit better.

~~~

Whenever Eren had a free period that Armin or Mikasa didn’t have, he would usually wander around the grounds. His favorite thing to do was kick off his shoes and sit on the field, letting his toes wriggle in the grass, and look out over the school from his little hill.

He opted for laying down and propping his head up with his arms. The hill let him see most of the grounds, even while he was laying down, so he took his time looking over everything. Sometimes Jean would find him out here and sucker punch him in the gut when he wasn’t paying attention. Until then, though, he had time to relax.

His mind wandered to Levi. It had been doing that more often as of late.

The Slytherin boy had continued to sit next to Eren in potions class, but they still talked very little. Even after the library incident they didn’t really become closer. Eren could not read Levi for the life of him. Levi was like a blank slate most of the time, and the rare times he did show expression, it was muted and hard to understand. Eren had no idea if Levi even wanted him around or not.

After all, he’d never sought out Eren’s company.

Eren frowned at the blue skies. Just because Levi never sought him out doesn’t mean that he dislikes Eren, right? Levi wasn’t very sociable to begin with, so it could just be that he doesn’t hang out with anyone.

Eren’s frown deepened. He had no idea what he should be doing. He knew Levi was new to Hogwarts, and probably new to the wizarding world in general, so Eren would feel bad if he just left Levi to suffer, but he seemed to be just fine on his own.

Wait, was Eren even necessary?

“Hello, brat.”

Eren started at the voice above him. Levi looked him over, making a face. “You look constipated.”

Eren blinked, completely caught off guard. He grinned once he realized Levi was talking about his face. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

Levi nodded and turned to look out over the grounds, his hands tucked in his pockets. Eren half expected him to ask what he was thinking about, but he was grateful when Levi didn’t. Instead, Levi said, “I need your help with something.”

Eren sat up, a bit surprised. “Always happy to help. What is it?”

“Could you show me around or something?” Levi asked. “I can’t tell what’s trying to kill me and what isn’t, and everything keeps moving, even the stairs, so I have no idea what direction anything is.”

Eren probably couldn’t look more surprised if he tried. “Um, sure. Of course.” Where should he start…? “Want to see out here first? Just a tour of the grounds?”

Levi nodded. “Sounds good.”

Eren got to his feet and brushed off his pants, hoping Levi didn’t mind a little dirt. “We should go towards the forest first.”

And so the tour began. It was pretty simple – this is the Forbidden Forest (don’t go in there, you’ll get killed – or detention). This is the whomping willow (don’t go near it, it’ll kill you). This is the lake (the lake itself won’t kill you, but don’t go swimming in it – something will probably kill you.) and so on. By the end Levi seemed to understand what would kill him or not, which was basically everything.

“Who decided to build a school next to a monster-infested forest?” Levi grumbled once the tour was over.

Eren shrugged. “The four originals. Everyone thinks they were probably crazy.” Eren walked a little longer with Levi before he looked up at the giant clock in the courtyard. “Oh, the next class is going to start soon. Was that good enough for now?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Levi glanced back at the school. “I do have one more question, though.”

Eren stopped walking and turned back to Levi, feeling a sudden change in tone. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“Why does everyone hate the Slytherins?”

Eren was caught off guard yet again. _Why? Because they’re deceitful little snakes, right?_ “Well… um, they…” _That’s not true for all of them, right? Levi isn’t like that._ “Um…”

_…Right?_

The bell rang, jolting Eren out of his stuttering thoughts. “I’ll… I’ll explain some other time, okay?” Eren called, turning on his heel and dashing towards the building. His teeth bit into his lip as he ran.

_Because Slytherins are horrible._

_All of them are._

_But what about Levi?_

~~~

Eren had been taking Levi on tours around the school, telling him what will and won’t kill him and the generals about how to navigate the campus. Levi appreciated it, glad he won’t end up falling off of a moving staircase or being attacked by a random creature anytime soon. Eren had made his introduction to this school much easier than he thought it would be. He was able to learn at his own pace and Eren was right with him every step of the way.

Eren never answered his question about Slytherins, and Levi never brought it up again. Eren had clearly been at a loss for words the last time Levi asked, so Levi decided to cut him a break. He had a general idea as to why the Slytherins were so hated, anyways.

A lot of them were assholes. They would string someone along just to dump them, become friends with someone to betray them, and rarely ever played by the rules. But even though the Slytherins subtly wreaked havoc around the school, the common room always felt calm.

As soon as he joined the Slytherin house it was like he was welcomed into a family. Just being in the same house as them meant they’d fight for him. They had a strong “Us against the world” mentality, like the only people that mattered in any situation were themselves and the house alone.

At first he was confused, and he had no idea where the mentality came from, but once he started to attend classes, he understood why they thought that way. No one liked the Slytherins. Whenever he would walk into a room people he didn’t even know would look away or wrinkle their noses like he was a dirty sock.

He didn’t care, of course. He didn’t give a shit about what others thought of him. He never saw the point in relying on other people’s opinions. But he understood the other Slytherins.

Everyone expected them to be horrible, so they were. They had nothing to lose.

Eren seemed to think the same way. He was kind to Levi, yeah, but he always seemed to have his guard up. Levi had decided to behave like normal. Eren could be cautious if he wanted to.

Levi couldn’t blame him.

Levi wandered outside, scanning the ground for any sign of the Gryffindor. He found Eren leaning against the side of the school. Levi walked over, noticing that Eren’s eyes closed and a peaceful expression was on his face. He hesitated, thinking that Eren was asleep, but the boy opened his eyes and looked blearily around.

Levi kneeled next to him. “Were you asleep?”

Eren yawned, covering his mouth with his hand. He looked exhausted. “I dunno. I think so.”

Levi sat down next to Eren and pressed his back against the wall. “Did you sleep much last night?”

Eren was silent for a moment. Levi half wondered if he dozed off again, but then he shook his head. “Too much homework…”

“I can wake you up before your next class, if you want,” Levi whispered, watching Eren’s eyes flutter in an attempt to keep them open.

Eren hummed. Levi didn’t know if that mean yes or no, but judging by the way Eren’s eyes kept drifting closed, he was sleeping whether he wanted to or not.

Eren let his eyes fall shut and leaned his head against the wall. “You know how you asked why everyone hates Slytherins?” He mumbled, his voice slurring with sleep.

Levi glanced over at him. “…Yeah.”

“It’s ‘cause some of them are mean,” Eren murmured. “Which is annoying, I guess, but, y’know, it’s fine.” Eren sighed. “They all seem to… enjoy it, though. Even when… even when what they’re doing is horrible. You never know if you can trust someone, because they all work together.” He frowned, his eyes still closed. “Or it feels like it. It feels like they have it out for everyone else.”

Levi pulled his knee up to his chest to rest his chin on it, letting out a breath. “Yeah. The others seem to do that a lot.”

“What about you?” Eren asked. He opened his eyes, locking his gaze on Levi. “Are you going to stab me in the back?”

Levi suddenly realized that something had to have happened to Eren. No wonder he was so cautious – a Slytherin must have betrayed him in the past.

And it looked like it still hurts him.

“I won’t,” Levi whispered. There was a delicate silence between them, and he was afraid to raise his voice higher than a whisper in case he shatters it.

Eren’s movements were still sluggish, but he eyes were wide and alert when they darted over Levi’s features. After a long moment, he let out a quiet hum. “I believe you.”

He let out a breath and leaned his head back against the wall, pulling his eyes away from Levi. “Don’t change your mind, though,” Eren mumbled. “They’ll try and get you to do something. Especially to a Gryffindor.”

Levi wondered who could have made Eren this distrusting, and what on earth they could have done. Instead he nodded, turning away from Eren. “I won’t.”

Eren went silent. Levi thought he might be thinking until something bumped his shoulder.

He glanced over to see Eren leaning against him, his cheek smushed into Levi’s shoulder and his eyes closed. He was out like a light.

Levi immediately noticed how awkward of a position Eren’s neck was in, so he shifted and let Eren’s head rest on his legs. He hoped the Gryffindor didn’t snore. Or drool, that’s even worse.

Levi resumed looking over the grounds, crossing his arms over his chest.

Eren seemed to trust him a little more. He trusted him enough to fall asleep on him, at least.

Levi glanced at the back of the sleeping boy’s head. He was grateful that Eren trusted him, even a little bit, which was odd for him. This was leaps and bounds more than most people Levi knew, in or out of the school.

He closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall. He knew he wouldn’t fall asleep, but taking the opportunity to rest was a good idea.

He sighed, listening to the sounds of the magical birds and creatures surrounding him and the soft breathing of the sleeping boy before him.

~~~

Eren had begun to feel much more comfortable around Levi. He was thankful for Levi letting him nap, and Levi had been true to his word and woke Eren up with plenty of time to get to class. Eren had hurried off after thanking Levi over and over. His friends (well, mostly Mikasa) still made it _very_ clear they did not trust him. Not in the least.

Ever since Eren had babbled to Levi about the Slytherins, he had trusted Levi more and more. Levi was quiet, yes, but it never felt like he was keeping a secret, and all of his choices seemed sincere. Not to mention sometimes Levi was so brutally honest it made it so Eren couldn’t help but believe him.

Eren had been suspicious of Slytherins ever since some of his… “friends” betrayed him. He had thought they were good people, but they turned around and stabbed him in the back. He trusted them, and they had betrayed both him and his fellow Gryffindors, so his trust of Slytherins had evaporated in an instant.

Eren shook his head, ignoring the thought. No point in digging up old memories.

He had bigger fish to fry.

“Where is it?” Eren asked, poking his head under a couch.

“Over there somewhere!” Historia cried, pointing to the far corner of the common room.

Mikasa stepped forward with a knife in her hand. “I can kill it.”

“No, no, Mikasa,” Armin said quickly and grabbed her arm. “We’re not killing it, it belongs to Marco.”

The “it” currently being referred to is the 5-pound toad let loose in the common room. It was Marco’s, a Hufflepuff’s, but Jean had decided to take care of it for a week and give Marco a break.

He lost it on the first day.

The moment Jean had burst into the room and announced “HORSE IS GONE!” the common room flew into a blind panic. A few of the students jumped on the couches like the floor was lava while the rest immediately started searching.

Jean was searching hardest of all. All of Eren’s friends knew that he had a major crush on Marco.

Well, everyone except Jean.

“We have to find him. Marco’ll be devastated if we lose Horse,” Jean mumbled, searching behind stacks of books in front of the fire place. Eren hoped, for Jean, Marco, and Horse’s sake, that the toad hadn’t accidentally hopped its way into the fireplace.

“He has to be around here somewhere. He hasn’t been gone for _that_ long,” Connie whined.

“That thing is gargantuan!” Eren complained. “Where could he even hide? He’s like a mini mountain!”

“Quick, Armin, you’re the smartest out of all of us.” Sasha grabbed Armin on either side of his face. “Thank like a toad!”

“How do I do that?” Armin asked incredulously, batting away Sasha’s hands. “Besides, you’re the hunter here. You know animal behavior better than any of us!”

“Yeah, if I’m traying to kill it!”

“So we are killing it?” Mikasa asked, raising the knife again.

Armin groaned. “No, Mikasa-”

“I FOUND HIM!”

Everyone dropped what they were doing and ran over to Connie. He held a giant toad over his head proudly, bouncing it up and down in victory. The toad did not look happy at all about being hoisted over someone’s head.

Jean snatched Horse out of Connie’s hands. “Hey, you might’ve hurt him!”

Eren scoffed. “Don’t get your panties in a twist. I’m sure Marco will still love you anyways.”

Jean’s eyes darkened. “What’d you say?!”

“No, nope, noooope.” Armin stepped between Jean and Eren, holding his hands up to stop both of them. “Jean, you should put Horse back in your room.”

Jean sniffed, but he turned away, stalking up to the boy’s dorm. He was made much less menacing by the angry toad in his hands.

Armin rounded on Eren. “And Eren-”

“Don’t pick fights, got it,” Eren squeaked. He’s been berated by Armin on more than one occasion for fighting with Jean, but every time was still terrifying.

Armin sighed. “Yeah. You’re going to kill each other one of these days.”

_God I sure hope so._

The common room slowly morphed back into it’s usual, not-quite-calm. Never was the Gryffindor common room completely quiet, even on slow days, and the conversations there were always lively and interesting. Eren flopped onto the couch, letting out a sigh.

He wondered if the other common rooms were this eventful. He bets the Ravenclaw dorms would be calm and quiet, while Hufflepuff would be cheerful and noisy.

For some reason, he couldn’t picture the Slytherin room. He always assumed it was full of evil masterminds selecting their next victim, but as of late, he never imagined it like that.

It always seemed like it would be…

Empty.


	3. Chapter 3

Levi has learned a lot about the wizarding world lately. He has learned spells, creature names, famous witches and wizards, and all about of Eren’s favorite quidditch players. The only problem was that he didn’t know practically _anything_ about popular things in the wizarding world. People would look at him like he was committing a felony when he mentioned toads as pets, and he has no idea why.

He thought he could pick it up as he went along, but no one talked to Slytherins unless they had to, and Slytherins aren’t the most talkative bunch to begin with. He could infer little things from Eren’s references and from what kids in his classes would say, but that was about it.

Right now, he was walking through the library in search of a magazine. There must be _something_ recent, even if the librarian was decrepit and out of touch.

He paused, his finger hovering over a title.

“You see, _my_ theory is-”

“Okay! Okay, I get it!”

A boy rushed around the corner with an exasperated look on his face and a textbook in his arms. He met eyes with Levi, then shook his head in annoyance. Levi watched him push out of the library without looking back.

Levi stepped around the bookcase, looking over the student sitting with towers of books around them. Their hair was pulled back out of their face into a high ponytail, the blocky glasses pushed all the way up their nose while their eyes scanned the book quickly. A Ravenclaw. Makes sense.

“…Hanji?” Levi asked, stepping into the student’s line of sight.

They looked up at him, then pulled a double take, gasping. “Oh my god, Levi! What’re you doing here? I had no idea you were a wizard!”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t know either until a year ago.” Levi looked Hanji over. Their clothing was different from what Levi was used to seeing them in, but it was still undeniably Hanji. Hanji was a close friend from his time before school, in the underground – they’ve given him splints, bandages, and even administered stitches on him, all in exchange for rare books that Levi would seek out and… _acquire_ for them. In other words, they’ve saved Levi’s life on more than one occasion.

Levi hadn’t really cared what the books were about, and his reading skills were practically nonexistent at the time, so he never looked into it. Now, though, Levi would bet that the books were about magic.

“Does that mean this is your first year at Hogwarts?” Hanji asked. “I’ve never heard of anyone transferring here, especially not so late.”

“So I’ve heard.” He scanned the books surrounding Hanji, stacked so tall they nearly blocked the Ravenclaw from view. “What’s all this for?”

“Transfiguration,” Hanji stated.

Levi waited for them to elaborate, but when they didn’t, he moved on with a sigh. “Well, I’m going to keep looking-”

“Hanji, did you find what you were looking for?”

Levi’s hands tightened around his textbook, his grip so strong his fingers turned white.

A boy walked around the corner, clearly a year or two older than Levi, with blonde hair neatly combed over his head and massive eyebrows. Levi knew him – _very_ well. “Oh. Erwin Smith.”

Erwin looked up at him and Levi saw recognition flash through his eyes. Hanji looked between them. “Do you two know each other or something?”

“Kind of,” Erwin said, looking back at Hanji, which was an incredible amount of trust to look away from Levi considering what had happened. “The last time I saw him he had a knife against my throat.”

“Sounds like him.” Levi glared daggers at Hanji. “So, what’d you do to deserve it?”

“Nothing, that I know of.” Erwin set the books down and braced his hands on the table, turning his attention back to Levi. “What _did_ I do?”

Levi let out a sigh and rested a hand on his hip. “Dok wanted it,” He said, more to Hanji than Erwin.

“Was the pay good?”

“Two thousand.”

Hanji let out a low whistle. “I see why you took it.”

“Are you still trying to kill me?” Erwin asked, and Levi was almost disturbed with how calm he was. Erwin wasn’t exaggerating when he said the last time he saw Levi was with a knife to his throat; Erwin’s house was a pain in the ass to get into, even if Erwin himself wasn’t a major fighter.

“Nah,” Levi sighed. “Dok called it off.” He nodded to Erwin. “Mr. Smith – your dad, I’m guessing – scared him away from the job.”

“I don’t think I got your name,” Erwin said, extending his hand out towards Levi, and Levi regarded it with caution. This is the boy he had been trying to kill for months, offering his hand like new friends. Erwin was so relaxed about the whole ordeal, but Levi wasn’t about to complain.

He took Erwin’s hand. “Levi.”

Erwin nodded to him, dropping his hand and going to set down his books. Hanji grinned. “So, how close did he get to killing you?”

“As close as you can get. I had no idea how you slipped by out security charms, but now I know that you had magic too.” Erwin held his hands up like he was surrendering. “Not that it was any less impressive. No one’s broken into our estate before. Ever.”

“Levi didn’t have magic at the time,” Hanji piped up, and Levi had the distinct feeling that they were bragging _for_ him.

“I didn’t know I was a wizard until this year,” Levi supplied upon seeing Erwin’s confused face. “I transferred not too long ago.”

“So you got by the muggle security, the security charms, through the enchanted front door, and into my room. All undetected. Without magic.” Levi had to stifle a scoff when he saw the look on Erwin’s face – it looked like Levi had blown his mind.

Levi shrugged nonchalantly. “Bedroom window, actually.”

_“That’s three stories up.”_

Hanji was currently cackling their ass off, and Levi nearly joined them when Erwin’s jaw practically hit the floor. “That’s barely even the start of it,” Hanji said when they had finally stopped laughing. “Come on. It’s story time!”

Erwin submitted, setting his books back down and taking a seat at the table, while Levi just crossed his arms and leaned back against the shelves. Hanji started regaling them with tales of their time in the underground, and Levi corrected almost all of it as it was mostly lies. A few things were true, though, like some of the places Levi had slipped into undetected and how Levi had a reputation as “the demon of the underground.” Hanji really seemed to be bragging on Levi’s behalf, though. Erwin sat and listened, nodding along.

It was nice. Levi had no one to talk to about his past life in the underground. He’s made sure to stay clammed up about it, too – he didn’t want anyone to find out about him, and he especially didn’t want Eren to for sure. But finding someone who already knew and that he could talk to freely was incredibly nice.

He continued to chat with Erwin and Hanji until the librarian had to kick them out because it was going to be too late. Hanji and Erwin said their goodbyes, breaking off to rejoin the Ravenclaws, and Levi returned to the Slytherin common room.

Today felt like a good day.

~~~

Armin speed-walked up and down the halls of Hogwarts, nearly breaking into a sprint when he made a full loop of the school and still hadn’t found Eren. “Eren? Eren, are you around here?” He yelled, trying to ignore the weird looks he was getting. “Eren!”

He pushed open the doors to the outside. It was beginning to get cold outside, as in snow was probably just around the corner, which made everyone simultaneously very festive and very panicked about midterms. Armin fell into that latter category.

And that was why he was searching for Eren now – Armin didn’t want to fail, but Eren especially couldn’t, not with his grades.

“Come on, Eren, where even are you?” Armin muttered to himself. Where could Eren have even gone? Did he practice an evaporation spell and is now floating through the ducts? Is there even such a thing as an evaporation spell? Maybe he was already in class. No, dear god, no – if _Eren Jaeger_ was in class early, hell had frozen over and pigs had taken to the skies.

Wait, Eren would like to sit on the grass, right? He should remember, because he would always see Eren covered in grass after free periods. Shouldering his books, Armin headed towards the wall to the school. “Eren? Eren, are you around he-”

His words died in his throat when he rounded the corner.

Sitting on the ground was a boy in Slytherin robes, the one Armin recognized from potion’s class as Eren’s partner; Levi, if Armin remembers right. Levi was looking up at Armin with a muted expression, but Armin’s focus wasn’t on Levi, but instead on the boy in Gryffindor robes laying on Levi’s shoulder, fast asleep. The boy’s face was out of view, but Armin could guess who it was. The bad posture, brown hair, and that little rip in the sleeve of his robe that Armin remembers sewing up time and time again: “Eren…?”

Levi put a finger to his lips. Armin slammed his mouth shut so fast it made an audible click. What was Eren doing here? With a _Slytherin?_ He wanted to ask, but Levi’s eyes were still on him, and fuck he was terrifying. It was moments like these where Armin wondered how on earth he got into Gryffindor.

Endless possibilities raced through Armin’s head. They ranged from the mundane, but unlikely – Eren fell asleep and Levi just waltzed over and propped Eren’s head up, for some fucking reason – to the bat-shit crazy – Levi had poisoned Eren and was currently waiting while Eren died on his shoulder. Instead of letting himself think of anything more, Armin hissed, “Why’re you here?” followed by, “Why is he here?”

Levi’s eyes slid from Armin to Eren. “He fell asleep,” He whispered. That answered neither of the questions Armin asked, but it did make Armin’s thoughts slow. He even heard something akin to protectiveness in Levi’s voice. But that’s insane, right? “He’s had a long day,” Levi continued. “I’m just letting him take a moment.”

Armin stilled and looked Levi over. “Oh,” Armin croaked. Levi reached over and brushed a hair out of Eren’s eye that seemed to be making the boy twitch. Eren’s face relaxed again, his soft breathing evening out.

If Armin swallowed all the preconceptions he had towards Slytherins (more like choked them down) and looked at this scene with an outsider’s perspective, they seem like… friends. Like a friend doing a favor. Eren must have known Levi long enough to be semi-comfortable around him. And Levi could not have done anything remotely questionable for Eren to trust him like this.

Levi looked up at Armin. “Eren’s talked about you before. From what he said, you two have been friends for ages.” Levi’s gaze sharpened, pinning Armin to the spot. “I know that you’re a Gryffindor. And I know how Gryffindors feel about… us,” Levi said, motioning to his robes. Armin remained silent. “Eren cares a lot that no one knows about me. So please, keep it a secret. Even if it’s just for him.”

Armin hesitated. Eren made a soft noise in his sleep, shifting slightly so that his cheek was even more smushed into Levi’s shoulder. “…Okay. I can, um, try and help. Where I can.”

The ghost of a smile crossed Levi’s face, only for a moment, then he glanced back at Eren. “I have… one more favor to ask. For me this time.”

Armin frowned. “What is it?” He kept his voice soft and low, careful not to disturb Eren.

“Don’t tell Eren about this either.”

Armin blinked and looked from Levi to Eren and back to Levi. He wanted to say ‘ _No, I won’t lie to my friend like that’_ , but he caught his tongue between his teeth the way he did when he needed to think. Either Levi was just trying to protect Eren’s feelings, or he knew Eren better than Armin gave him credit for.

Armin has known Eren for years and years, which meant he had a pretty good read on what Eren would do. If Armin went to Eren and said he knew that Eren was hanging out with a Slytherin, even if Armin said he didn’t mind, Eren would freak out. He would start to overthink every detail. He’ll wonder who else could’ve found out, if he needs to hide it more, or maybe, if he gets too scared, he might even stop seeing Levi altogether. And if that last one happened, Eren would be torn up about what to do for months.

“You have my word,” Armin whispered after a moment of thought. Eren shifted in his sleep, curling further into Levi and making Armin even more sure of his decision. Eren couldn’t afford to lose as close a friend as Levi seemed to be.

Levi met Armin’s eyes, but he didn’t seem nearly as menacing as before. “Thank you.” Levi glanced back to Eren. “I’ll wake him up and send him after you. Get out of here.”

Armin nodded and turned back around the corner he came from. He knew he should keep moving to keep a head start on Eren, considering how fast that boy could move, but something held him back. He stopped by the wall, listening.

“Eren. Eren, wake up,” Came Levi’s hushed voice.

“Mmh?”

“Class is about to start.”

“Five more minutes.”

“Oi, brat, I said wake up.”

“Whyyyyy.”

“Your friend walked by earlier. He was calling for you.”

There was a pause, then a frantic shuffling of robes. “Huh? Armin?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh god. He didn’t- he didn’t find me, right? Shit, if it gets out in Gryffindor that I fell asleep on you-”

“It’s okay, I think he went back inside. He didn’t see you.”

“Shit, I need to catch up with him before he comes back.” More ruffling of fabric, then, “Thank you so much, Levi.”

Armin blinked. Something about that, about the way Eren had just whispered his thanks, it seemed…

He rushed forward as he heard Eren’s textbooks being shoved away, hoping to make it to the courtyard before Eren could come find him. He would have to think about this some other time.

~~~

Levi laid on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He had developed a rhythm, of sorts. He would talk with Eren and hang out with him when they had free periods, and the other times he would find Hanji and Erwin (well, more Hanji found _him_ ) then they would talk as well. Both the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaws were making Levi’s life a hell of a lot easier by keeping him filled in on the doings of the wizarding world.

He even muscled up the courage to ask Eren for help on current events. He hated admitting he didn’t know something. Eren even helped him with minimal jokes.

Now, though, it was dinner time, and the common room had emptied. And Levi was _bored._

He swung his legs out of bed and made his way out of the common room. He had finished his dinner already, so he had little else to do. It was warm inside, overly so, so he decided it would be nice to wander around outside until dinner ended.

That is, it was a good idea in _theory_. He got lost on his way there.

He wandered the halls in search for anything recognizable, but nothing popped out. The halls were empty, too, so he couldn’t exactly ask someone for directions when everyone is in the dining hall.

A girl rounded a corner wearing a Hufflepuff cloak, a stack of books in her arms tall enough to cover her face. Levi could see her teetering under the weight.

“Do you need help?” Levi called, already walking over.

“Oh, yes please, I would appreciate-” Levi lifted a few books, and the girl’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “-it.”

Levi recognized that look. It’s the ‘Oh my god you’re a Slytherin’ look. He shrugged it off, continuing to take half of her books. “Where are you going?”

“Oh, um, I’m going to the Hufflepuff common room,” She explained. Levi ignored the way she avoided eye contact like the plague.

“I don’t know where that is,” Levi said. “Lead the way.”

The girl nodded. She started walking down the hall and Levi trailed behind. Although the girl looked nervous around Levi, she seemed confident in how she walked, and Levi would bet she knew her way around the school.

After walking down a few halls she cleared her throat. “What’s your name?”

“Levi.” Levi didn’t bother looking at her. He knew it would just make her more uncomfortable. He was a bit scary, on top of him being a Slytherin.

“My name’s Petra.” She smiled at him. “You’re actually pretty nice, huh?”

Levi raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, you never know with kids here.” Petra laughed semi-nervously, shifting the books in her arms to keep her hands busy. Levi could get what she meant – _You never know with Slytherins._ “Ah, well, I might as well not skirt around it. You never know with Slytherins, really.”

Levi blinked. “Honest.”

“I try to be,” Petra said through a soft laugh. “I never bought into the whole rivalry thing, anyways. It might just be the Hufflepuff motto, but I try to give people a chance. Y’know?”

“That’s a good motto.” Levi nodded. This girl was a Hufflepuff, but she had the bravery of a Gryffindor. Rarely ever did someone talk to Levi so casually, and never right off the bat.

It was kind of nice.

“Thank you.” Petra grinned. There was a pause, then she glanced back to Levi and looked over his robes. “You’re a fourth year, right? How do you not know where the common rooms are?”

“This is my first year here,” Levi admitted. “I’ve only been here for a few months.”

“Really? I’ve never heard of anyone joining Hogwarts late.” Petra turned down another hall, and Levi wondered why it was so crazy for someone to join late. “Why?”

Levi took a moment to think about it. “Extenuating circumstances.”

“Oh. What happened?” Damn, she wasn’t letting Levi off easy.

“Family death,” Levi said bluntly. He half wanted to add _‘There, happy?’_ but he was actually beginning to like Petra, despite her probing questions, so he would rather not be short with her. She seemed like a kind person, and it was impressive for anyone to be kind to Levi, in or out of the school.

Petra’s face dropped to the appropriate expression. “Oh. I’m so sorry.”

“It was four years ago. It’s fine.”

Petra stopped at the end of a hall and turned to face Levi. “Well, we’re here.” Levi shifted the books back onto her pile, making sure she didn’t tip over. Petra was shorter than Levi, and considering how small Levi was, it was honestly a bit amazing. He’s never had to tilt his head down to look at someone.

“Do you know the fastest way to the grounds from here?” Levi asked as he set the last book on top of the pile.

Petra nodded behind Levi. “That way, then your first left and first right. If the 5:43 staircase is on time, you should be able to walk right out into the courtyard.

Levi thanked her and headed back down the hall. The moving staircase was two minutes late, but he didn’t mind waiting for a moment. Soon he was down the stairs and heading out into the cold air of the courtyard.

It was winter, so it was dark and cold outside. The castle tended to keep things too warm for the students, so the blast of freezing air was refreshing, even if it made his cheeks tingle. Levi enjoyed the bite in the air a moment longer. Everything in the courtyard was lit up by the lights of the castle, and everything beyond was illuminated in the soft glow of the full moon, so Levi decided it wasn’t so bad of a night to walk around.

He wandered down towards the forbidden forest, making sure to give it a wide berth. The creatures in there were much louder and more active at night. Or, at least, it felt like it.

He found himself standing in front of the lake. A cool breeze slid over the water and pushed his hair back, stinging his nose and the tips of his ears. It was calm and quiet. He could still hear the distant sound of the dining hall, but it was muffled by the walls and the frozen air. Every once in a while, the water would ripple as some unknown creature swam close to the surface.

He sat down at the water’s edge and let out a breath. There were very few things he enjoyed more than quiet.

“Hey.”

Levi glanced over his shoulder, spotting a certain bright-eyed brat waving awkwardly as he walked over. “Hey. Isn’t dinner going on right now?”

“It’s too stuffy in there. I usually walk around after I eat anyways, so I decided to walk outside, and I guess I just saw you.” Eren tilted his head. “What’re you doing out here?”

“Pretty much the same,” Levi said, turning back to the water.

Eren hesitated for a moment. “Could I sit next to you?”

“No need to ask.”

Eren sat down next to him, their shoulders bumping together. It was a bit closer than necessary, but Eren was warm, and Levi had a feeling Eren was trying to stay warm as well. It also felt nice with Eren around. As the one who stuck with Levi since the beginning, Eren’s presence had become a source of comfort. He was the reason Levi had survived these first few weeks (literally). Speaking of which… “Did I ever thank you for the tours?”

“I think so,” Eren hummed.

“Do you want anything from me?” Levi asked. “I owe you.”

Eren looked at the lake for a moment, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them. “No, you’re good.” Eren thought a moment longer. “Actually, yeah, I might have something.”

Levi raised an eyebrow in silent question. “Could you tell me about yourself?” Eren asked. “Like why you transferred so late?”

“Extenuating circumstances,” Levi said. It was a knee-jerk reaction at this point.

Eren’s eyebrows wrinkled, but he didn’t press. “Oh.”

Levi thought about Petra for a split second. He’d known Petra for five minutes and she knew more information about him than Eren did, and he’s known Eren for much longer than Petra – he deserves more. “A family death.”

“Oh…” Eren looked down at his feet. “Could I ask who…?”

“A family death,” Levi repeated. “My family.”

Eren’s eyes widened. “Your whole-” He cut himself off, turning his head away from Levi in shame. “I’m- I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pried.”

“It’s okay. I said I owed you, right?” Levi sighed, extending his legs in front of him and bracing his arms behind him. “They died about four or five years ago. It’s history now.” Even as Levi said that, the memories came rushing back. He really was over it now. It had taken years for him to accept that his mother had passed, but now, when he looks back on it, he just feels sorrow.

Eren’s apologetic eyes met Levi’s. Levi noticed just how big and expressive Eren’s eyes are – it was like he could see every emotion swirling through Eren’s head. Right now, it seemed like so many at once it made Levi’s head spin.

There was one emotion Levi could pick out. Curiosity. Overwhelming curiosity, like he was silently begging for Levi to keep going.

Levi turned back to the water. He wanted to tell Eren more, which was rare for him, but he really didn’t want Eren to know about his reputation in the underground. He decided to just talk about his family. “I was alone with my mom when I was little. Dad ran off, you know how it is.”

Eren looked out across the lake, but nodded to show he was listening. He didn’t ask if Levi wanted to stop, which Levi was grateful for. If he did stop, he didn’t know if he would be able to keep going.

“She raised me until I was about ten or eleven. Then she got sick. Real bad.” Levi let out a sigh and looked up at the stars. He remembered that part the most. He was alone with his mother, with no one else able to take care of her, so he had frantically done what he could with the limited knowledge he had. They were poor to begin with. They couldn’t afford to send Levi to school. “She died not long after. I had done what I could, but it wasn’t enough, I guess.”

“Levi…” Eren closed his eyes, resting his forehead on his knees. “…Sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it...”

Levi blinked. He looked over to see Eren glancing up at him, and it was such a soft expression it caught Levi off guard. “I guess so, huh?”

“What did you do after that…?” Eren whispered.

Levi frowned. Most of what happened after that was a depressed blur, up until when he moved in with his dad. “I-”

He cut off as he felt pain shoot through his ankle. He looked down with just enough time to see a scaly, clawed hand wrapped around his ankle before he was jerked downwards. “Shit!”

“Levi!?” Eren rushed forward and reached for Levi’s hand, but Levi was already shooting into the water.

He clawed at the rocks surrounding the lake in a frantic search for something, _anything_ to hold on to. Just as his head went under he grabbed a rock that jutted out from the rest. Who knows how long it’ll hold.

He knew his grip wouldn’t last for long, though. The rock was wet and slippery, the creature was incredibly strong, and the shock of the freezing water was making his muscles freeze up. He could feel his fingers going numb already.

His lungs burned with the need for air. He hadn’t managed to take a breath before he went under, and from how hard the creature was pulling him, he wouldn’t be able to push himself up to breathe. He had no time to think. Every time he tried to form a plan, the creature would yank harder and force him to focus on just keeping himself from being dragged into the water.

He felt hands wrap around his wrist and pull. He reached his other hand up and clutched at Eren’s wrist in return.

Eren pulled. He was hauled out of the water far enough to take a breath before being yanked back down. The lake edge sloped down so suddenly he was practically being yanked straight down. But now that he had gotten a breath, he could think easier.

The creature had only grabbed one ankle, leaving his other leg free, so he pulled his leg up and swiftly brought his free foot down on the creature’s hand. Its grip loosened, only for a moment, and Eren was able to haul him partly out of the water.

He gasped for air, holding tight to Eren. “What is that!?” Eren shouted. The creature yanked while Eren’s focus was wavering, but Eren held tight. He gritted his teeth and pulled harder on Levi.

Levi kicked down again. Eren managed to pull again until Levi’s upper half was out of the water. Levi let go of Eren’s wrist with one hand and braced it against the ground, searching for a good hold, and when he found it he kicked back again.

Eren pulled Levi almost completely out of the water. Levi flipped on his back, hands above his head to keep a hold on Eren. “Fuck. Off!” He shouted, punctuating each word with a kick. The creature finally let go.

Eren stumbled away from the rocks, falling onto the grass, and Levi scrambled away from the water’s edge. A horrendous screech split the air as the creature dove back into the lake.

Eren and Levi’s chests were both heaving. “What… the fuck… was that?”

“I don’t know,” Eren gasped for air.

Levi rubbed his arms, still soaking wet from the freezing water. He tried to gather his bearings.

Once the shock faded slightly, he started to feel the cold. It cut straight through his thick clothing and ran straight into his bones. He could already feel his teeth chattering. “Sh-shit.”

Eren sat up. “Oh god, you must be freezing!” He looked around, then his eyes landed on the castle. “We have to get you inside before you get too cold, shit!” He cried and scrambled to his feet.

Levi got to his feet after him, arms still hugging himself, but he gasped and fell back to the ground. “F-fuck, ow!”

His ankle had deep claw marks in it, red blood soaking into his socks from the torn skin, and from a quick analysis he was able to tell that the cuts gouged fairly deep. He tried again to stand, but as soon as he put any weight on his ankle he was forced back to the ground. Eren was by his side in an instant. “Come on, we need to move. Lean on me.”

Eren helped Levi to his feet and let Levi lean on him. Levi hobbled as fast as he could with his injured ankle. It was really, really cold. His fingers and toes had gone numb already, and the cold was beginning to creep over his face as well, making his features burn from cold and pain. They needed to hurry.

Eren burst open the door from the courtyard, and Levi couldn’t stop the sigh of relief when warm air rushed over him. Screw it if it was too hot before, this was just the right temperature. Eren’s eyes scanned the hall. “In there,” He muttered. He helped Levi into an empty classroom and closed the door behind them.

He set Levi on one of the desks. “Okay, now what?”

Levi was shivering violently, but he couldn’t stop. He hooked his numb fingers around his cloak. “Cold wa-water, o-off.”

When he couldn’t get his hands to grip his cloak Eren helped take it off for him, then Eren took off his water-soaked shoes as well. Levi rubbed his feet in relief. He only then noticed the watered-down blood dripping down his ankle.

Eren bit his lip. “Fuck, what on earth…?”

Levi pulled up his pant leg and looked at his ankle. It looked like a bear bit it. “Are th-there any band-bandages?” God, he hated the shiver in his voice.

Eren looked around the room, but he seemed to have as much luck as Levi. Eren slipped his wand from his robes. “Okay. Okay, I can do this.”

Levi eyed his wand, and Eren took a steadying breath, touching it over Levi’s skin. _“Vulnera Sanentur.”_

Levi jerked, biting his lip. Eren quickly grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m not good at it yet!” But Levi didn’t really care, mostly because the deep gashes on his ankle were mending together and sealing up as if by magic. No, wait, _by_ magic. Fuck, he was not used to this whole wizarding thing yet. It was messily done, and a bit painful, but he was healed.

“W-wow…” Levi breathed. He looked down at his soaked sweater, managing to hook his fingers in it but unable to do much else.

 “Let me help.” Eren helped lift Levi’s sweater off, exposing Levi’s arms to more warmth. Levi closed his eyes and breathed. Good.

He scanned the classroom for anything that could heat him up faster, but there was nothing but empty desks and a barren teacher’s table at the front of the room. Eren seemed to notice this too. “Okay, we need to… fuck, I don’t know.” Eren met Levi’s eyes, then he snapped his fingers. “Hold on.”

Eren pulled off his cloak and sweater and put them on Levi. Levi rubbed his arms, drawing what warmth he could from the cloak, but it wasn’t enough.

Eren bit his lip and pointed his wand at the door to the classroom. _“Colloportus.”_ Eren then pushed forward and wrapped Levi up in his arms, pressing his hands beneath Levi’s shirt and catching Levi completely off-guard. Eren’s warm hands sent burning heat over Levi’s back. Levi let out a sigh and closed his eyes, letting the warmth set in, feeling Eren’s cheek pressed against his hair and taking what little comfort he could from that.

Eren held him close. Once a bit of heat returned to Levi, to the point that Levi stopped shivering so much, Eren pulled away. “How’s that…?”

Levi let go of Eren, missing Eren’s heat a little bit. “How’d you learn that spell? That seems a lot harder than the stuff in class.”

“Oh, uh, funny story,” Eren said, scratching the back of his head nervously with an embarrassed smile slapped over his face. “So, I may or may not have had an incident with a woodchipper when I was little.”

Levi raised his eyebrows. “A what?”

“Haha, uh, yep. It was off, but I somehow managed to get my whole arm stuck in there. When we took it out, well, you get the picture. Mikasa was so freaked out she did a bunch of research and found that spell so that I wouldn’t end up dying by some freak accident with a pen or something like that.”

“Hearing that, I get why your friends are so protective,” Levi scoffed. He touched his ankle with a hiss, but even though his skin was raw it was mostly healed. “Thank you. I can’t believe that just happened.”

Eren laughed softly. “That really scared me. What even was that thing?”

“Is this school just one giant death trap?” Levi grumbled and rubbed his hands together.

Eren sat on the desk across from him, looking apologetic. “I’m… sorry for pressing you on your story.”

“If I didn’t want to tell you, I wouldn’t have,” Levi stated. He rubbed his feet to try and get feeling back into them. “You did nothing wrong.”

Eren hesitated, but he nodded. “Did more happen after that…?”

Levi ruffled Eren’s hair. “Some other time. What about you? What’s your story?”

“Not much,” Eren said with a shrug. Levi was thankful he wasn’t upset about Levi not telling more. “I have my mom and my sister, Mikasa. She was sorted into Gryffindor with me.” Eren glanced up at Levi with a half-smile playing over his lips. “If you ever see a girl with a red scarf and black hair that seems like she’d kill someone if she wanted to, that’s her.”

Levi scoffed. “Sounds nice.”

Eren laughed, his smile bright as ever. “Oh my god, I have never heard anyone call her that,” He said between laughs. He started laughing all over again when he seemed to think of it.

Levi’s lips quirked up slightly. Eren had an amazing smile, yeah, but his laugh was somehow even better. Levi rested his chin in his hand. “So it’s just you three?”

“Yeah, my dad took off when I was eight. It wasn’t so bad. Money isn’t tight, Mom takes good care of us, and I barely even knew my dad for me to be hurt by that.” Eren sighed. “I wonder where he is.”

Levi hummed. “I think dinner just ended.”

“Ah, Mikasa’s going to murder me if I don’t meet up with them again.” Levi pulled off the cloak and sweater and handed them back to Eren. “Make sure to have the nurse check up on your ankle, okay?”

Levi began ringing out the water in his own cloak. “You got it.”

“And Levi?”

Levi stopped, meeting Eren’s bright eyes. Eren grinned. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

Levi nodded once, watching Eren turn on his heel and walked out of the classroom. After Levi finished drying out his socks, he grabbed the rest of his clothes and headed out the door as well.

If Eren hadn’t been there, then fuck, he could be dead. He owed Eren, big time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I miiiiight revise this chapter later on  
> I hope you enjoyed it as it is for now, though!


	4. Chapter 4

Eren shuffled his books in his arms and staggered down the busy hall. He wasn’t in much of a rush – it was a free period for him – but the onslaught of students pouring out of their classes and blasting by him made it a tad difficult to stay upright. He managed a cautious step forward, then fell straight into someone.

Thankfully, that someone was built like a mountain, so Eren didn’t hurt them. There was only one problem with said mountain.

Reiner turned around, Annie and Bertolt looking Eren over from behind him. Eren gulped. “Ah- let me just…” He sidestepped around them but found Reiner’s hand on the back of his cloak. “Hey-!”

“Hold on, Eren, we just want to talk,” Annie said.

Eren pulled away, but Reiner didn’t let go. “I don’t want to talk. Let go, you’re going to tear it!”

Reiner pulled back on the hood, throwing Eren into the door of a classroom. Eren was about to make a run for it but found all three of them blocking the entrance. “Woah, Eren, just hear us out,” Bertolt laughed, scratching the back of his head. “We wanted to talk to you about your friends.”

Eren huffed. His books were scattered at his feet, but he didn’t bother picking them up. He folded his arms over his chest. “What _about_ my friends?” He really, _really_ didn’t want to talk with these three, but goddamn, it doesn’t seem like he has much of a choice in the matter.

“We think you might need to reconsider,” Reiner said. Reiner leaned against the stone archway, trying to appear relaxed, but Eren noted that it still blocked him off from the hall. “We’re not sure if your friends are supporting you the right way. You’re a powerful wizard, Eren. You need friends that can help you grow.”

Eren set his jaw forward. “Shut up.”

“You’re still too stubborn. Look, we want to help you out, we really do.” Annie blew a bit of hair out of her face, then her eyes locked onto Eren. “You just gotta trust us.”

“Why the fuck should I trust you?” Eren spat. He tried to shove past Reiner, but Reiner pushed him right back. It was like pushing against a brick wall. “Hey! Let me out and leave me the fuck alone!” The students were thinning out in the hall, leaving just the Slytherins and Eren, who was steadily growing more and more nervous. He needed to get out. “Move!”

“Eren-”

“I said fuck. OFF!”

“Hey.”

The whole group froze. Eren glanced behind them at Levi, whose eyes had a look of such murderous intent it rivaled Mikasa’s. Scratch that, it beat Mikasa’s death glare by a mile when he leveled in on Bertolt. “What’re you doing.” It wasn’t a question.

Annie answered anyway. “We’re talking,” She huffed, folding her arms over her chest. “Leave us alone. You don’t have any part in this, asshole.”

Levi looked past Annie and met Eren’s eyes. “Eren, are they bothering you?”

“They won’t leave me the fuck alone,” Eren snapped, glaring at Reiner, who was still blocking him. “Bloody hell, let me leave. I’m not going to listen to whatever bullshit you have to say about my friends after what you did to them.”

Levi’s eyes flashed, only for a moment. “…Move out of the way.”

Annie scoffed. “This doesn’t concern you, jackass. Leave us alone.”

“Move. Now.” Levi’s eyes flicked up to Reiner, who towered over him by at least a foot. “I’m looking at you, mountain-man.”

“Get out of here, midget,” Reiner spat.

That little spark in Levi’s eyes that Eren saw before, that tiny little flash, just dialed up to a blazing inferno faster than Eren could even _think_ about blinking. Eren half expected Levi to punch Reiner, but no, no no no Levi wasn’t that simple. Of course he wasn’t.

He promptly hopped off the ground and smashed a roundhouse kick straight into Reiner’s jaw.

“What the fuck!?” Reiner roared, but he was teetering, and with one shove Eren pushed him down and broke free from the doorway. Levi hopped back before Reiner could grab his ankle. “You little fucking shit! You could’ve broken my nose!”

“Could’ve? I guess I should’ve tried harder.” Levi set himself between Eren and the other three Slytherins. “Now then, unless you want more of that, back off.”

“You’re real damn lucky there aren’t any teachers around,” Annie growled. A look passed over her face, a look that sent Eren’s stomach dropping straight through the floor. “Then again, maybe not.”

“Levi, move!” Eren tackled Levi, throwing him to the ground and just out of the way of a blast shot of Bertolt’s wand. Fuck, he forgot. Bertolt has one of the highest grades in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and he was one of the best at wizard duels in the entire school. Eren rolled to his feet. They were in trouble.

Bertolt settled into a deeper stance to brace himself as he fired off another shot. Bertolt’s control was terrifying. The bolts were light enough to not leave a mark on the school, but would definitely damage something if it were to hit one of them.

Eren looked behind him. Levi was gone.

“You little brat!”

Eren spotted Reiner charging straight towards Levi. Levi spun on his heel and smashed his elbow right into Reiner’s face when the muscled boy dove for him. If Reiner’s nose wasn’t broken already, it sure as hell was now.

Eren gasped. Annie’s wand was trained right on Levi, her lips already mouthing the words. Eren’s hand moved before his mind did, the wand that was in his pocket now tight in his grip as he pointed it straight at Annie’s hand. _“Expelliarmus!”_

The wand flew out of her hand, skittering across the floor. Eren had little time to enjoy his victory, because as soon as the wand hit the floor he was thrown to the ground by one of Bertolt’s magic bolts.

His head cracked against the hard marble and everything turned black for a second. He groaned, clutching the back of his head and trying to think past the loud ringing in his ears. He looked up to see Levi right next to him. “Eren, are you okay?”

Eren looked behind him, watching with horror as Annie scooped her wand off the ground and Reiner pulled out his own. “Duck!” But their lips were moving, Eren’s wand was out of his grasp, and they were stuck.

_“Silencio!”_

Bertolt’s incantation died in his throat. The other two got distracted, turning to check up on Bertolt, while Eren tried to prop himself back up into a sitting position. He quickly decided against that when the world started spinning.

Levi looked up at someone who must be standing out of Eren’s line of sight. Did they cast the spell…? “Oh, you two.”

“That’s a pretty tame greeting for someone who just saved your life!” Someone said in a peppy voice. “Come on, Levi, not even a thank you?”

“Thanks.”

“Eh, good enough.”

Eren rolled over, spotting two Ravenclaw students, one of the students twirling their wand in between their fingers. The other had his wand out at the ready, currently trained on the Slytherin trio. Eren tried again to sit up, maybe to thank them or just to see them better, but the world was _really_ spinning now. He laid back down, pressing his palms into his eyes. “Fuck, owww…”

“Hey, back off! This isn’t your fight!” Reiner shouted. Annie was currently hissing the counter for the silencing charm put on Bertolt, but that’ll take time, so Eren considered them safe for now. No, wait, Reiner was raising his wand. They could be screwed.

The other Ravenclaw spoke up this time, the one with the distinct eyebrows that Eren could probably see from a mile away. _“Locomotor Mortis.”_ Reiner’s legs froze up and he quickly lost his balance and tumbled to the floor.

“See, it _is_ our fight now.” The other Ravenclaw said, their voice turning deadly sharp. They stepped in front of Eren and Levi. “The moment you hurt one of my friends, you’re in for a world of hurt.”

Annie glanced from Reiner to Bertolt, then she let out a laborious sigh. “Whatever. We should be going, anyways.”

“You should probably get that nose checked out in the nurse’s office there, Brauny boy!” The student called. Reiner flipped them off as he righted himself, then Annie and Bertolt helped him hobble away. They sighed. “That was an interesting turn of events.”

“Thanks, Hanji.” Levi looked up at the Ravenclaw, Hanji, apparently. “You too, Erwin.”

“Uh, Levi, your friend there doesn’t look so good,” Erwin said, kneeling over Eren.

Eren groaned and touched the back of his head. It throbbed with pain, making everything around him spin, and when he pulled his hand back his fingers had blood on them. Hanji crouched over him and held their finger over his face. They moved it around, like they were checking something, or maybe casting a hocus-pocus spell. “Yep. That’s a concussion if I’ve ever seen one.”

“Come on. We’re getting you to the nurse, too.” Levi helped Eren up to his feet, and Eren felt like his insides had just turned to slush. “Woah, don’t fall over.”

Eren pointed behind him. “My books are still back there.” He turned to look, but it felt like everything inside his head had been thrown to one side when he did that, so he groaned in pain and quickly stopped.

Erwin patted his back. “I’ll get your books and bring them to the nurse. You focus on getting there.”

Eren nodded, allowing Levi to start leading him to the nurse. Everything felt really bright all of a sudden. He squinted against it, but walked fairly normally, if with a little stumbling due to the world wobbling like the camerawork of a six-year-old.

When they made it to the nurse’s office he was relieved to find no Reiner in sight. Madam Pomfrey bustled over and hurried him to a bed. Levi, Hanji, and Erwin crowded around him, Erwin recounting all of his books and setting them on the bedside table.

Levi shook his head. “I’m sorry about that, Eren. You probably wouldn’t be hurt if I hadn’t interfered.”

“I would rather have broken a leg than listen to them talk for any longer.” Eren laughed, then immediately stopped and pressed a palm to his forehead. Too loud, way too loud. “They’re douchebags. Thanks for kicking Reiner in the face, by the way, you just made my day.”

Levi’s lips twitched up in some semblance of a smile. “Anytime.”

They talked a little more, mostly about how Eren felt and if there was anything Eren was forgetting (how on earth was he supposed to remember, his brain felt like it had been replaced with a slushie), up until Madam Pomfrey hurried them out with a stern look on her face.

Levi squeezed Eren’s hand. “I’ll check in again soon. Sound good?”

Eren smiled. “Sounds perfect.” Levi nodded, ruffling Eren’s hair before following after Erwin and Hanji. God, Eren’s face felt hot. The concussion must be frying his brain.

~~~

“Oh shoot, I need to go check in with a teacher.”

Everyone turned to face Historia, who had suddenly scrambled to her feet, a paper clutched in her hand. Armin wrinkled his eyebrows. “Are you sure? It’s really close to curfew. If Filch catches you out…”

“I’ll be fine, it’ll only take a moment,” Historia said, checking the time on the clock. “I’ll be back in a snap.” She pushed open the portrait hole and clambered out into the flame-lit hallway. Eren paid no attention to it. Historia slipped out all the time to check in with her charm’s teacher. Historia was a brilliant wizard, she really was, but she tended to be a bit forgetful at times. Maybe Eren should buy her a remembral.

Eren returned to his stack of homework, suppressing a groan. He thought he had gotten a lot done, but upon second glance, he had barely made a dent. He shuffled through the papers, searching for anything easy to do.

A letter flittered out of the pages. He frowned, picking it up off the floor and turning it over to see the address.

This is the letter he wrote to his mother.

That he was supposed to deliver _yesterday._

“Shit!” He hissed, scrambling to his feet. “I’ll be right back, guys, I forgot to send this.”

Mikasa looked up at him. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“Nah, it’s fine. It’ll only be a second. We’re close to the owlry, right?” Eren stuffed the letter into the pocket of his robes.

“Shouldn’t you go tomorrow if you don’t want to be caught?” Armin asked.

Eren met Mikasa’s eyes, then frantically shook his head. “It’s for Mom. I’d rather not have to face her wrath unless I have to.” Carla was a good woman, and a good mother, but when she got angry, oh boy, she got angry.

He rushed out the portrait hole door, speed-walking up to the owlry as fast as he could. His head felt much better now that a week had passed. Madam Pomfrey worked wonders, so his migraines had stopped a few days after, and he stopped feeling weird completely after the week had ended. Other than a little healing for the wound on the back of his head, he was fine.

He needed to thank Levi, though. A weird twist pulled at his gut. It had been doing that lately whenever he though of Levi, mostly because he felt bad about making Levi end up fighting for him. He felt really guilty about that. Levi was so close to getting in trouble, the trio of Slytherins had reported him for assault, but Eren, Hanji, and Erwin testified that Levi had done no such thing and that Reiner had fallen on his face all by himself. Then, in anger, he attacked Eren and Levi unprovoked and gave Eren a concussion.

Since Eren looked the worst out of everyone, staring dazedly into the distance as the teacher talked to him, they opted to believe him instead of only one person who was hurt on the trio’s side. They all managed to slip by without punishment, although the trio didn’t get in as much trouble as they had hoped. It was only chalkboard cleaning for them. Unfair.

Eren clambered up the steps to the owlry, careful not to trip in the dark. The school usually kept the owlry dark so as not to disturb the owls, allowing the owls to navigate by natural lighting.

He stepped into the owlry. The owls already seemed restless when he walked in, which was a bit odd. They were nocturnal, though, so he didn’t think much of it.

He scanned the room for his own fluffy brown owl, Titan, who had pure, burning fury trapped inside his tiny, tiny body. He stepped further in, looking around, but froze in place. He heard a sound, muffled by the feathers of the owls.

Is that… kissing?

That explains why the birds were so restless. He should leave the two alone, wherever they were, but he really needed this letter delivered if he didn’t want the biggest smackdown of the century. He searched for his owl, a bit faster this time.

“I missed you…”

Eren stalled. Was that…?

“Historia…”

Eren’s jaw practically hit the floor. Historia was here? _Making out with someone?_ He never took Historia for the type, but no one knew much about Historia anyways. Could she be…?

He suddenly felt talons sink into his skull. He squawked, flailing his arms around and trying to shoo the tiny beast off of him. He realized two things right then. A) that was Titan, the little shit, and B) Historia and whoever she was with had gone silent. Eren froze.

“Who’s there?” Came Historia’s hesitant voice.

Ah, screw it, Eren’s cover was blown anyways. “Historia? Is that you?”

“A friend of yours?” The other person asked. Eren blinked. The voice was muffled, but… that was definitely a girl’s voice.

“Yeah.” Historia cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Let him see. I really should explain.”

Eren shielded his face with his arms as a flurry of birds burst from one of the walls, flying away all at once. Once the wings and feathers had dissipated, Eren managed to make out two figures in the dark, one belonging to Historia and the other belonging to a girl with a short ponytail and freckles. They both had messy hair, a few feathers stuck here and there, and Historia was practically in the other girl’s lap.

Eren’s eyes trailed down. There, on the lapel of the freckled girl’s cloak, was the Slytherin crest. He looked back up to see Historia’s eyes, wide and scared. “Eren, I can explain. I just- I, um…”

“Who’re you?” Eren asked. He was a bit surprised by how steady his voice was, considering the revelation he just had about Historia. “What’s your name?”

The girl arched an eyebrow. “…Ymir. My name’s Ymir.” She looked Eren up and down, sizing him up, then tilted her head. “You’re pretty polite for a Gryffindor.”

Eren gave her a half-smile, not sure if he should take it as a compliment or feel insulted on behalf of Gryffindor. He decided on the first one. That was nicer.

Historia still looked very nervous, although Ymir, who seemed on edge before, had grown perfectly calm. Eren looked into Ymir’s eyes. She wasn’t calm, not really, her look was cool and calculating. Historia twiddled with her fingers in her lap, stammering out, “I don’t know how to even begin to explain…”

“Don’t worry about it. I just need to send this, then I’ll be out of your hair.” He looked around for titan, but the little beast had flown off again. Titan was such an ass sometimes.

Historia blinked. “Wait, really?” She looked between Ymir and Eren. “Um, you’re okay with this?”

Eren shrugged. Where was that little shit of an owl? “It’s not my business.”

Historia blinked. “Really?”

“Hey, sit down for a while, would ya?” Ymir asked. She lounged back against the wall, one arm wrapped lazily around Historia’s waist. Historia hesitated, then shuffled closer to Ymir.

Eren paused for a moment, but he gave in and sat down in front of the pair, not meeting their eyes. “I really can leave it you want.” He felt something land on his head, and he knew without a doubt that Titan had just now decided to make his reappearance. Too little, too late. No treats for Titan, Eren decided.

Ymir leaned forward. “You’re pretty different, aren’t you?”

Eren blinked. “…Huh?” He felt Titan hop onto his shoulder and start nuzzling his cheek.

“You don’t have it. The ‘look’.” Eren frowned, but Ymir elaborated. “You know, everyone has this ‘Oh my god, you’re a Slytherin’ look. Well,” She turned to Historia, motioning to Eren. “He doesn’t have it. And I know he saw my cloak.”

He did see Ymir’s cloak. And he remembers Levi talking about ‘the look’, about how whenever he walked into a room everyone would look at him like he was unwanted. Eren would always feel bad about it. Oh, there was that twist in his gut.

Historia looked over at him. “Huh. I guess he didn’t.” Ymir reeled her in a bit closer, and Historia leaned into Ymir’s side. “Um, could I ask why?”

Eren shrugged. Titan fluttered (well, more like flopped) into his lap, and Eren absent-mindedly stroked his feathers. Titan bit lightly on his finger in and affectionate way. Eren liked to think of it as affectionate, anyways. “I dunno. I made a friend?” There it was, the jerk in his stomach. He should get that checked out _._

A sly look crossed Ymir’s face. “A friend, huh? Are you sure about that?”

Is he sure he and Levi are friends? God, he sure hopes so, otherwise Levi makes a habit of kicking people in the face for shits and giggles. “Uh, yes…?”

“You made a friend? In Slytherin?” Historia asked, looking a bit shocked. “Even after…” She trailed off, and Eren saw the panicked look in her eyes as she turned back to Ymir. “Um- I mean-”

“After what?” Ymir interrupted. Historia averted her eyes.

“Three assholes,” Eren spoke up, catching Ymir’s attention. His friend group hadn’t been as ‘Boo Slytherin!’ as the rest of the Gryffindors – or, at least, they weren’t before they met the trio. “They stabbed us in the back, to put it shortly.”

Ymir’s hold on Historia tightened. “Who?”

“Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner,” Historia supplied. “They became friends with a lot of the Gryffindors, myself and Eren included. We… we really got along, I thought. But then, yeah, they stabbed us in the back. They got us into a _lot_ of trouble.”

“What’d they do?” Ymir asked, arching an eyebrow. “You sound pissed for a bit of trouble. What, was it really bad detention or something?”

Eren’s gaze sharpened. “Try sneaking three trolls into school and locking us in a room with them.”

Ymir’s eyes widened a small bit at that. “They what?”

“See that scar on Historia’s forehead?” Eren pointed his chin towards Historia, and Historia hesitated, then pulled her messy hair aside. “Thank them.”

Ymir’s eyes shot to Historia. “…Hm.”

“Half of us didn’t even have wands. It was a nightmare.” Eren shook his head, scoffing. “Then, of course, there was no evidence that _they_ were the ones who snuck the trolls in, so if we tried to report it, they could pin the blame on us. It was all planned out perfectly.”

“But, Eren, you’re over that?” Historia asked.

“Is it that unbelievable?” Eren looked over Historia and Ymir, all nice and cozy together, surrounded by owls. They were the perfect picture of a couple. “You look pretty over it.”

Historia glanced at Ymir. “…Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

Eren felt Titan nip his finger. “Ow, hey!” He patted Titan roughly until he let go, then picked him up in his arms and got to his feet. “I still need to send this letter. I’m sorry for walking in on you guys.”

“Wait, Eren,” Historia called before Eren could walk away. “Please, don’t tell anyone. You know how Gryffindor would react.”

“I won’t, I promise,” Eren said. He walked out to the balcony, tying the letter around Titan’s foot.

“Hey, Eren.” Ymir got to her feet and folded her arms over her chest. “I know you guys need to keep it secret, but everyone in Slytherin knows about me and Historia. They don’t give a shit about who you date there, just as long as you protect them.”

Eren glanced back over his shoulder at her. “…okay?”

“Just… just keep that in mind.” A look passed over Ymir’s face, like she knew something he didn’t. He frowned.

Eren nodded, then whispered the directions to Titan and sent him out into the air. Historia smiled. “Thank you, Eren. I owe you one.”

Eren walked back to the stairs. “You two have your fun. Be back before curfew, or else you’ll face Filch’s wrath.”

Ymir smirked. “You got it.”

Eren headed back down the owlry stairs, leaving the two little lovebirds alone. For some reason, Ymir’s words kept replaying in his head. He had a weird taste in his mouth, too, and his stomach was twisting and turning like he was on a rollercoaster.

_“As long as you protect them.”_

…Huh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOW DO YOU SPELL BERTHOLDOTOD


	5. Chapter 5

Levi sat down with a sigh, and Eren smiled over at him. “Long day?”

Levi nodded. “Class was too loud. We got assigned extra homework.”

“Bummer,” Eren said with a little sympathy. His sympathy was all worn out today, though, because the exact same situation Levi was in happened in almost every class of Eren’s. He walked out with a bag stuffed to the brim with homework assignments.

Levi looked Eren over. “Did you remember your book?”

Eren paused, then leaned over the edge of the table and shuffled around some of his supplies that were next to him on the floor, then slowly sat back upright. “…no.”

Levi pulled out his book and plopped it in between them, no questions asked. Eren would like to say this was a rare occurrence, but this wasn’t the first time he’d forgotten his textbook, and it certainly won’t be the last. His forgetfulness was a blessing in some cases, though. For example, he met Levi and actually gathered the courage talk to him because he was in a state of absolute panic from forgetting his book.

Maybe it wasn’t as much of a blessing as he was making it out to be.

“Okay, class. Open your books to 385. We’re making the Stephile potion today.”

There were mixed reactions to this news. The Stephile potion has been unofficially dubbed the “Floaty Hearts Potion” – when someone drinks it and thinks of someone they love, they breathe out a smoky heart. A lot of the boys seemed embarrassed by it, but some of the girls were ecstatic. Levi had no reaction, although Eren doubted he knew what it was.

Once the potion was set aside to steep, he half wondered if it would even work on him. He didn’t have a crush. He didn’t love anyone, except maybe family, and he doubted he was _that_ passionate about anything that he would end up producing a heart.

Levi leaned over the potion. “Does it turn pink when it’s done?”

“It should.” Eren resisted the urge to stir it or fidget with the heat. Not only would it ruin the potion, but Snape would drop his already poor grade in a heartbeat.

Levi sat back in his seat. “This feels dumb. What’s the point of the potion?”

“I dunno,” Eren admitted. “Maybe it’s so that way you can show how much you love someone?”

“But what if you don’t love someone enough and then that’s what’s shown?”

“…That’s a good point.”

“Or what if you like someone and don’t want them to know, or people slip it into other people’s drinks, or a million other reasons that don’t make any sense.”

Eren shrugged. “I bet there was some kind of use, you know, if someone took the time to make it.”

“The potions should be finished now. Cups are up front. You may taste it and feel its effects,” Snape said from the front of the room.

“I’ll get the cups,” Levi said. Eren nodded his thanks and Levi headed up front. It was Eren’s turn to taste today, which meant he’ll get to feel the effects (and, well, will be the one to die in case they somehow fucked it up _that_ badly) and that Snape will judge them based on his reaction.

Levi set the cup on the table and ladled the pink potion into it. He wrinkled his nose. “…It looks like Pepto-Bismol.”

“I have no idea what that is,” Eren said. Levi just shook his head and pressed the cup into Eren’s hands. Eren had to agree – it looked about as unappetizing as possible. He held the cup to his lips. “Well, bottoms up, I guess.”

He chugged the drink, and it went down surprisingly smooth. It was sweet. It tasted pretty good, actually. He set the cup aside and wiped his hand over his lips.

Levi leaned down to his face height. “Is it working?”

Eren meant to say yes, but when he opened his mouth he hiccupped instead. He slapped his hand over his mouth. There, in front of him, wavering in the drafty dungeon, was a red heart. It caught him by surprise. “Oh hey, it works.”

Levi took his seat next to him. “Nice.”

Eren hiccupped again, and another heart appeared. Maybe it wasn’t working. He wasn’t focusing on anyone, but these hearts kept appearing around him. This time he simply exhaled and another one appeared, followed by another one.

He sealed his lips shut. It was a bit embarrassing, how many he was producing. Most of the class had maybe one or two. Even the girl in the back who sat next to her boyfriend had only a few, but she had only a sip not that long ago. A hiccup. Another one.

And another. And another.

“What the fuck?” Eren whispered, slapping a hand over his mouth. He watched in horror as another one leaked through his fingers. “What’s happening?”

Levi leaned over. “Wow. You must really love someone.”

He did? He cycled through all the girls he knew. Sasha, Historia, Hannah, anyone? Maybe family? But no hearts appeared when he thought of either Mikasa or Mom. Could he really have fallen this hard for someone and not have realized it?

“Eren? Are you okay?” Levi asked. “Did we mess up the potion and make it to strong or something?”

“I don’t -hic- know.” Another one. He slammed his mouth shut fast enough that it made an audible click. What is…?

“Should I get the antidote?” Levi asked, placing a hand on Eren’s shoulder.

An immense pressure suddenly flooded the back of his teeth, and he felt like someone had filled his lungs and throat with panicked butterflies. He coughed out heart after heart. “No way,” He breathed, quiet enough so Levi wouldn’t hear him. “No fucking way.”

Levi. It was Levi.

Eren hacked up another smoking heart, avoiding Levi’s eyes and batting away Levi’s hand. There must be some kind of mistake! This can’t be right!

“Hold on, I’ll be right back,” Levi said, climbing to his feet.

Eren blinked through teary eyes, the coughing making his eyes water, and he locked gazes with someone all the way across the room. Ymir stared at him with one eyebrow arched and a smug smirk on her lips, like she knew something he didn’t. Or maybe that she knew it all along.

Eren looked around in a panic. Was it obvious what was going on?

Eren met Armin’s eyes across the room. Armin tilted his head, looking worried, and behind him Eren could see Mikasa blatantly staring. Eren had the most hearts out of anyone in the class. He was coughing and hiccupping and steadily drawing the attention of everyone in the room. If anyone connected the dots, if anyone figured out why he made so many hearts–

Levi held up a little bottle. “I have the antidote. I just need to activate it with sage, and then… Eren?”

Eren shot to his feet so fast his chair screeched and tumbled over. He clamped a hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry, I have to -hic- go to the bathroom,” He mumbled.

And then he turned and _ran._ He was out of the classroom door like the building was on fire, and he ran down the hall to the boy’s bathroom. God, was he crying? His heart was beating a mile a minute in his chest, and he realized with a start that he was sobbing.

“Stop, please,” He gasped, like that would do anything. All it did was make another heart appear.

He rounded a corner, bolting through the door of the bathroom and slamming shut the stall door behind him. He locked it, and let out a breath. Damn hearts. He collapsed onto the toilet, burying his face in his hands.

Fucking hell. “Levi?” He hissed. “It’s fucking Levi?”

There was no way. No goddamn way he could have all these feelings for Levi and not have known a _thing._ And why Levi? Why the one friend who was the absolute _worst_ possible person to become enamored with?

He pulled his hands away from his face, wiping off his tears with his sleeve. The hearts floated around his head, equally comforting and mocking, and though he waved his hand through them more took their place.

Shame burned in his stomach. Not only did he incriminate himself by sprinting out of the room, he was going to be in deep shit when Snape decides his punishment. His heart pounded, like it was trying to jump out of his throat and run free. It hurt to think about Levi. It was that twist in his gut from before, that guilt that he wasn’t sure was guilt anymore.

The door to the bathroom creaked open. Eren covered his mouth with his hand and froze.

“Eren? Are you in here?”

Fuck, it was Levi. He didn’t know if he wanted anyone to follow after him, but Levi was probably the worst person in this scenario. He would have preferred _Snape_ over this. Scratch that, he will never prefer Snape over anything else.

“I brought the antidote,” Levi called. “You’re here, right?”

Eren bit his lip. “…I’m here.” He slid open the lock on the stall door with a click.

Levi eased open the stall door, a few stray hearts drifting by his head. It looked like someone had placed a filter around his picture, what with all the hearts floating around. “Eren?” He pushed through the hearts, causing a few to disintegrate, and held out the small glass bottle. “Drink this. It’ll help.”

Eren pulled out the cork and chugged the vial’s contents. The pressure in his throat lessened, and it felt like his lungs weren’t full of smoke anymore. He still hiccupped out a heart or two. “Thanks…”

Levi kneeled in front of Eren, his eyes flickering over Eren’s features. Eren rubbed his face with the back of his hand, trying to clear away stray tears and knowing he was failing, then cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Sorry, I just…”

Levi frowned. Eren couldn’t look Levi in the eye – he would sob and then cough out hearts all over again. The burning tears in his eyes didn’t help his appearance. “Sorry,” He murmured, followed up by a sob. Fuck, another heart. When will that antidote kick in? “I’m sorry…”

He froze when he felt a hand wrap around his. “I’m not… good at comforting people,” Levi admitted. Eren turned back to him, seeing Levi looking at the ground. “…What should I do?”

Eren let out a half-laugh. “Just fuckin… hug me or something.” He closed his eyes, looking away. What a stupid request.

He let out a sound of surprise when he felt himself slide off the toilet and into Levi’s lap, and then he felt Levi’s arms encircle him. He shifted, offering his shoulder for Eren to cry on. God, it made Eren want to cry even more. Eren dropped his forehead to Levi’s neck, clenching his hands into the back of Levi’s robes, and he felt Levi’s warm hands rub circles into his back.

Levi’s touch was welcome and comforting, but the hearts that appeared because of it were anything but. Levi was silent, but the way he ran his hands over Eren’s back and smoothed down Eren’s brown hair told him that the Slytherin was trying his best. Eren slowly let his body relax into Levi. He accepted the hearts as they died out.

He hiccupped one last time, and watched on more heart join the others. He felt tired all of a sudden. The exhaustion from running and crying hit him all at once, and he sagged in Levi’s arms. He sighed.

The hearts danced in front of his face, just over Levi’s shoulder. He smiled. Maybe this was what the potion was really for. Realizing something about yourself that you never knew.

He raised a hand and swished his fingers through the heart, watching it disappear between his fingers. He pulled back from Levi. “Ok.”

“Better? Did it stop?” Levi asked, running his thumb beneath Eren’s eyes and catching stray tears.

Eren nodded. “I think so.”

A moment of hesitation, then Levi murmured, “Does this have something to do with who you love?”

“…Yeah,” Eren whispered. It had absolutely everything to do with who he loves, and the more he thought about it, the more screwed he felt. Fucking hell, Levi being a Slytherin was hard enough. The fact that he was male was just icing on the cake. Eren closed his eyes, taking a steadying breath. His friends didn’t care about gender, thank god, but he had no idea how the rest of Gryffindor would react if they discovered this.

He felt a rough pat on his cheek. “Hey. Don’t think about it so much. You look constipated.”

Eren blinked in surprise, then laughed. “Ah, sorry, sorry.”

“But really, though.” Levi’s eyes softened. “What’s wrong with this person that they’re messing you up this much?”

“It’s- It’s nothing, really.” Eren averted his gaze, unable to gather up the courage to look at Levi again. “I just…”

“Do you need me to sock them in the face?” Levi asked suddenly.

Eren blinked again, then grinned and shook his head. “Oh god, please don’t.”

Levi’s hand wrapped around his once more. “Then what’s wrong?”

“Just… can’t be together. You know?” Eren sighed, ducking his head and letting Levi brush the rest of his tears away.

Levi nodded. “Let’s get back.”

Eren slapped a hand to his forehead. “Oh shit, Snape’s gonna kill me!”

“It’ll be worse if you don’t go,” Levi pointed out. Eren sighed, then nodded, letting Levi help him to his feet. There were a stupid amount of hearts floating in the air above them. Eren swatted his hands through the smoky shapes, watching with satisfaction as they disappeared. Good riddance.

Levi slid open the stall door, one stray heart clinging to the air around his head. Eren froze.

Levi turned back at him, eyes soft, eyebrows drawn together, the heart lingering around his ear, and whispered, “Hey, are you coming?”

Eren turned as red as the heart. “Uh, yeah. I’m- I’m coming.”

He trailed after Levi, watching the floating heart with a smile. Then, he reached over and dragged his finger through the heart. The smoke curled around his finger, following even when he pulled it back.

He knows what was happening, now. The twists in his gut, the flutters in his chest, the way his face felt like it was being burned alive, all of it was because of Levi. What he didn’t know was what to do with the information.

He wondered if he should just turn around and leave, never talking to Levi again. Would that really be easiest? He sure as hell didn’t want to.

He felt a hand clap the back of his head. “You’re thinking too much again. Come on, I’ll stay with you. We’ll see if we can lessen Snape’s punishment.” Levi turned back to walking forward, side by side with Eren.

Eren smiled. “Okay…. Stay with me.”

~~~

Levi looked into the dining hall, scanning for a sign of Eren anywhere. The Gryffindor boy had disappeared after the Stephile potion fiasco. Levi had assumed that it was just chance that he hadn’t bumped into Eren yet, but judging by the confused looks on Eren’s friend’s faces, Eren hadn’t really showed up for most of today. Levi paused for a moment, then slipped away from the dining hall. He had a hunch about where Eren was.

First, Levi snuck off to the Slytherin common room and picked up a blanket from his bed. Then, blanket tucked over one arm, he wandered outside into the cold weather.

Eren was exactly where Levi thought he would be. He sat with his back to the school, his legs curled up to his chest and his breath fogging out before him. He hadn’t noticed Levi yet.

Levi stepped forward, hearing the frozen grass crunch beneath his feet. “Hey.”

Eren looked up at him. “Hey.”

“Could I sit down?” Levi asked, then he motioned to the blanket. “It’s warm.”

Eren smiled and tilted his head. “You don’t have to ask.”

Levi nodded, sitting down next to Eren and wrapping the blanket around his shoulders before offering one corner to Eren. Eren shuffled closer, shoulders bumping with Levi’s, and pulled the blanket tight around himself. “Thank you…”

“Of course.” Levi sighed.

Eren paused. “…Is this charmed?”

Levi nodded, curling further into the blanket and appreciating its warmth. It had been charmed to be a bit warmer than usual, and to amplify the heat already inside, so it warmed up quickly. It was even better than the heated blankets Levi would find in the muggle world. “Hanji gave it to me.”

Eren hesitated, then rested his head on Levi’s shoulder, closing his eyes. “How’d you find me out here?”

“I just had a hunch.” Levi felt Eren’s warmth pressed against his side. Eren seemed to run a little warmer than other people Levi knew, which meant he was just the right temperature on cold nights like this. “I think your friends are waiting for you.”

“I know,” Eren murmured. “I just need a moment away from them.”

“Do you want me to leave too?” Levi asked, reaching over to pull the blanket tighter around Eren’s shoulders. “I can go if you need me to. You can have the blanket too, if you want.”

Eren looked up from Levi’s shoulder, a look crossing his face, a look Levi couldn’t quite identify. A second or so passed before he shook his head. “No. Actually, could you just… stay here for a while?” Eren’s eyes widened for a moment as he seemed to scramble. “I mean, it’s just a bit cold, and you’re warm, but I guess I should just go inside, but I don’t want to go inside, and I-”

“Woah, it’s okay.” Levi pressed his full side against Eren, resting his hand on the grass behind Eren’s back to fit them together more comfortably. “It’s quiet out here. I don’t mind sitting with you for a while. I need a break from inside too, anyways.”

Eren’s face broke into a relieved smile. He pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders, careful not to pull it off of Levi when he did so. Levi sighed and looked out over the grounds, over the rippling lake that he refused to go near, the forest that he also refused to go near, and the whomping willow that he _also_ refused to go near. It seemed like a lot of Hogwarts scenery was better viewed from a distance. Eren let out a soft sigh next to him. It was cold outside, teetering on the edge of snow weather. Levi wasn’t really sure why he and Eren kept deciding to sneak out when it was cold as fuck. He didn’t mind too much, though. The cold kept everyone away. It was quiet.

“You never finished your story,” Eren whispered after a while.

Levi was busy looking up at the stars. The light pollution from the castle was dimming them a little bit, but he could still make out plenty. “Hm?”

“Your story. About you.” Eren turned his face away so Levi couldn’t see. “I don’t… I don’t know if you even _want_ to finish, but…”

Levi glanced over at Eren. It was difficult to see him in the dark, and the lights of the castle just threw more shadows over his face to make his expression difficult to read. Levi shrugged. “Okay. Sure.”

Eren’s brilliant eyes found Levi’s in the dark. “Really?”

Levi nodded. “Where did I leave off…?”

“It was with your… it was with your mom,” Eren whispered, like he was carrying something fragile.

“Oh yeah, that’s right.” Levi closed his eyes. “Yeah. It didn’t take long for child services to find me after Mom died. I guess I had a record somewhere, because they managed to track down my dad and pin me off on him. He, uh… he didn’t take too kindly to that.”

The weight of Eren’s head rested against his shoulder once more, giving Levi a bit of comfort without asking questions. It made telling the story a lot easier. “I stayed with him for a few months. He really didn’t like having a kid around. I cost too much. He would, um, drink. A lot. And drinks cost money. He never liked me, at all, and as I grew up and ate more, he _really_ started to hate me.” He hesitated. “…He tried to smother me in my sleep.”

Eren stiffened next to him. Levi rested his head back against the wall of the school, keeping his eyes closed. “I played dead. When he thought I had kicked it, he went ahead and killed himself. I guess he felt guilty. Or maybe he was just afraid of being caught.”

He heard Eren take a sharp inhale. “That’s… that’s horrible.”

Levi opened his eyes, meeting Eren’s watery gaze, and realized with a gentle buzz in his stomach that there was no pity in Eren’s eyes, only warm sympathy. Levi turned his head back out towards the grounds. “Child services didn’t find me that time. My uncle, Kenny – he found me. Or, at least, he said he was my uncle.”

A soft smile crossed Levi’s lips. “We never stayed in one spot. I don’t know if he even _owned_ a house. He took care of me almost all the way up until the beginning of the first year at Hogwarts.” His smile faltered. “Then there was a fire. I’m guessing that’s why the letter never reached me. He died in there, but I somehow managed to make it out.”

Eren had withdrawn slightly, making Levi ache for his warmth. “Then what did you do?”

“I found some friends,” Levi murmured. “And I stayed with them for a while. We kept each other alive.” He tried to, at least. “Farlan and Isabelle. They died too, not too long before this year.” Levi remembered, way too well. Of course someone had to have a gun, and of course they had to be out for Levi, and of _course_ Farlan and Isabelle would leap to his rescue like they always did. They died quick. Levi was glad that it was painless.

“Now I’m here,” Levi finished, voice softening so it was barely above a whisper. He realized that he had just cut open his chest and spilled his heart, bared and out in the open, all of it for Eren to see. He’s never really done that before. He felt a pang of fear, but when he looked over at Eren, it faded a bit.

Eren smiled at him, soft and sweet. “Now you’re here,” He echoed. “And I hope things are better for you.”

Levi let out a soft breath when Eren shifted closer again, his body heat flowing over Levi once more. “It is,” Levi hummed. “I like it here, much more than I thought I would.”

Eren’s hand slid behind Levi’s back, slotting them together. It was warm, even though the air nipped at Levi’s nose and cheeks, and as Eren pressed even closer, he closed his eyes. It felt wonderful. Nothing was better than being wrapped up in heat when it’s freezing outside.

Levi’s eyes slid open, and he realized how close Eren’s face was. It made sense, considering how huddled together they were. Levi sighed, closing his eyes again, his face angling downwards. Eren made a soft noise. “Levi, I…”

Eren never got to finish his sentence. The clock chimed, signaling the end of dinner. Levi sat up and stretched his arms. “Your friends are probably looking for you. We should get back inside.”

Eren blinked, lips still parted mid-sentence. “Ah- ah, yeah, we should… I should get back to them before it gets too late.”

Levi got to his feet and helped Eren up after him. The walk back to the castle was cold, even colder now that Eren’s body heat had left Levi, but it was warm once again when they stepped inside. Levi and Eren parted ways with a quick goodbye.

Levi turned on his heel and walked down the hallway. He suddenly stopped, feeling arms wrap around him and hold him in place. He peeked over his shoulder. “Eren…?”

“I just- I’m glad you’re here,” Eren murmured, still not letting Levi turn around. “I’m so happy I could meet you. And I hope you’re happy here. And if you aren’t happy, I’ll make you happy.” He said the last sentence with a childish edge, like he would make Levi happy, whether Levi wanted it or not. Levi looked over his shoulder to see Eren grinning cheekily. “Got it?”

Levi nodded, a soft smile breaking his face. “Got it.”

Eren squeezed Levi once more for good measure, then turned around, walking towards the Gryffindor common room with a bit of a skip in his step. Levi sighed.

He had spilled his broken heart out. And Eren had plucked the pieces off the ground and put them away, just for Levi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy anyone reading this should totally check out the floaty heart aus out there. They're pretty great


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been posting a new chapter every Thursday, but I decided to tell you guys and make it an official schedule thing! They're not going to be very long, but I'm assuming faster updates are better than ones that take forever
> 
> Lemme know what you think!

Eren pulled his bag up higher on his shoulder, finally managing to tetris all of his books and papers into the school bag. He should just follow what Mikasa did, throw a little charm on it to make the inside a bit bigger, but he’s far too lazy to do that.

He looked around the hall before spotting a familiar face. “Levi! Hey!”

Levi glanced over at him, then gave him a small wave. Eren made his way over through the swarm of kids. “I was looking for you!”

Levi tilted his head. “Hm? What for?”

“Just wanted to ask if you were going to the dance with anyone,” Eren said, proud of how casual it came out.

The winter ball was just around the corner, one of the biggest balls of the year, and nearly the entire school was talking about it. It had been the subject of conversation in every single class Eren’s had today. If he was honest, it was grating on his nerves a little bit. But every time it was brought up he thought of Levi. He thought about asking the Slytherin, sometimes. But, mostly, and most scarily, he thought of Levi going with someone else.

It was kind of freaking him out a little bit.

He told himself, over and over, that it didn’t matter if Levi went with someone else. Eren had no chance with him. There was no point in worrying over it, and no point in getting upset about something that made Levi happy.

That’s what he wanted, right? Levi to be happy?

“Oh, no one.” Levi shrugged. “I don’t know if I’m even going.”

Eren suppressed the sigh of relief, saying instead, “You should totally go! I need company with me. I don’t have a date either.”

“I’ll think about it.” Levi looked up at Eren, an eyebrow cocked but a soft expression on his face, and fuck Eren’s heart hated him. “Need the company, huh?”

“Yeah, Mikasa and Armin roped me into it, date or not,” Eren excused. “I would love to hang out with someone _other_ than those three. As long as I manage to slip away, that is,” Eren said, winking.

Levi opened his mouth to respond but he was interrupted by someone shouting his name. Both Eren and Levi turned to look. “Oh, Petra.”

A small girl, a Hufflepuff, who was somehow even shorter than Levi stumbled over to them. She smiled to Levi, then way up at Eren. “Hi!” She waved her hand from its place beneath her big stack of books, looking less like a wave and more like someone drowning. “What’s your name?”

“My name’s Eren,” Eren said with a smile. “Do you… need help?”

Petra shook her head. “Nah, I got it. I’ve been carrying these around all year.”

“What do you need?” Levi asked. Eren glanced between him and Petra, a sinking feeling in his gut.

“Oh, I just wanted to ask you a question,” Petra said from behind her tower of books as she shifted them to rest on her hip. “You have a free period next, right?”

Eren was either reading way too much into it, or Petra was blushing. Fuck, he was probably reading too much into it. He cleared his throat and looked away. What would it matter, right? It’s not like he has any choice in the matter.

He tried telling the twist in his gut that.

“Yeah. What’s up?” Levi tilted his head.

No, wait, she’s not outright asking him the question. That means- “Is it okay if we talk for a moment?”

Eren looked between them. Petra tilted her head, smiling at him, but it was clear he wasn’t wanted. He smiled. “Ah, sorry. I’ll head out then…”

Petra smiled and nodded. “It was wonderful meeting you, Eren!”

Levi gave Eren a small wave, but Eren had already turned away. He couldn’t watch. His heart thrummed against his ribcage, and he felt the nausea hit him, all at once. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter it didn’t matter it didn’t- _Fuck_.

He glanced over his shoulder. Levi and Petra were barely visible, but Levi was nodding, and Petra was giving him a small smile.

It didn’t matter. Right?

Eren didn’t have a choice, anyways. It wasn’t like he could do anything.

He turned away, pushing through the other students with more force this time. The idea of staying made him sick to his stomach. Hell, he was already sick to his stomach.

He ran into someone. “Eren? Are you okay?”

He looked around, meeting Armin’s blue eyes. “Hm? Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just trying to get back to the common room. I have too much homework to waste a free period on.”

Armin nodded. “Do you need me to come with you? I can help you study.”

“Nope! I’m fine,” Eren chirped, shifting his bag. “I should get going, though. I’ll see you around. Okay?”

Armin hesitated, but nodded. “Okay.”

Eren gave him one last smile before pushing through the students again. The crowd began to thin as he got closer to the common rooms, and it wasn’t long before he burst free, running the last part to the portrait hole. He practically flew into the boy’s bedroom, surprising a very naked Jean.

“Jesus, dude! Can’t I change in peace!?” Jean shouted, pulling the curtain of his bed in front of him.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry.” Eren threw his book bag down next to his bed. He then turned, collapsing onto the bed, arms spread out beside him. Fuck.

Jean emerged again, his own book bag thrown over his shoulder. “…You good?”

“Yeah.” Eren heard his voice waver, but it didn’t crack, and thank god it didn’t. “…Don’t you have class? You realize it starts in like two minutes, right?”

“Oh fuck,” Jean muttered, pushing open the door to the room. Eren let out a sigh once the door swung closed.

He threw an arm over his face then immediately stopped. His cheeks were wet. Fuck, he was crying, and damn he’s glad Jean didn’t notice or else he would never hear the end of it. He hoped he wasn’t crying when he was near Levi. That would be even worse.

He sat up with a gasp.

_Armin._

~~~

The dance was held in the ballroom, and it was absolutely _massive._

Practically every student in the school was here, everyone flooding the dancefloor with dresses and cloaks of all different colors, whirling together to the tinny music. There was a food table as well, which had filled with people faster than Levi could blink.

The room was decorated for the occasion as well. It was really pretty, he had to admit. The ballroom was a golden color, with white accents, taken up mostly by a dance floor in the middle with smaller tables littering the edges where students could talk.

Levi sat at one of these tables, looking out over the room. Right now it was a slow dance. Couples swayed together, lost in each other’s eyes, and all the mushy shit. It was kind of awkward.

White sheer curtains hung around the room, separating the tables from the wings. They were pretty, but their beauty was ruined by the teachers having to bat out students making out behind them. He could see a teacher now debating busting two students or saving their eyeballs from the torture.

He people watched for a while, too, but people are boring, so he was mostly just watching. He didn’t see any signs of Eren or Hanji and Erwin. He couldn’t see anyone he recognized until Petra showed up.

“Hi, Levi!” Petra called, waving at him. Behind her stood three boys, two of them giving Levi a smile and the third looking like he was trying to seem menacing. Levi waved back. Two out of three seemed nice. Not bad.

Petra trotted over, a big smile on her face. “Levi, these are my friends that I wanted to introduce you to. You know, while you’re getting used to the school.”

Levi nodded. “Have a seat.”

The four kids sat around the table, two Hufflepuffs and a Ravenclaw. Petra motioned to each of them. “This is Oluo, this is Gunter,” She said, gesturing to the two Hufflepuffs. “And this is Eld.”

Levi raised his hand in a wave. “Hey.”

Eld and Gunter nodded, and Oluo raised his hand in the same way, but with more force. “Hey.”

Levi tilted his head at Oluo, then turned back to Petra. “It’s nice to meet you all. I still don’t know many people at this school, especially not from other houses.”

Petra smiled. “That’s why I thought I could introduce you.”

“Yeah, we don’t really care about houses. I think it’s dumb, to be honest,” Eld sighed, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. “Unless you’re an ass. But Petra didn’t say you’re an ass, so I’m guessing you’re not.”

Levi shrugged. “Most of the time.”

Petra grinned at him, and Levi nodded back. It really has been difficult to make friends. He wasn’t talkative to begin with, and when he did talk, he sounded like an ass, so Petra has been very helpful. She’s a Hufflepuff. She can make friends with nearly anyone.

“Yeah, well, it’s good to meet you. Petra’s talked about you a lot,” Eld said.

Petra gasped. “Eld!”

Oluo made a “tch” noise and looked away. Levi tilted his head in a smug expression, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest. Oluo did the same. “Did you now?”

“Don’t make that face,” Petra scolded. “It wasn’t anything like that, jeeze! I was just mentioning you to them.”

“Mhm. Repeatedly,” Gunter murmured off-handedly.

Petra turned bright red. Levi shook his head – Oluo shook his head too, and scoffed for good measure – and looked out over the dance floor.

Oh, there was a familiar face. Eren was standing, just off to the side of the dancefloor, chatting and smiling with the blondie and the scary girl from potion’s class. Armin and Mikasa. Eren was right – “nice” wasn’t really fitting for Mikasa. Although, the way she smiled at Eren was quite sweet.

Armin pointed at something across the room, further away from Levi. The trio’s attention was drawn to whatever it was, and Armin smiled, waving.

Levi sat up straight in his chair. Oluo did the same, and fuck it was grinding on his nerves a little bit. Petra leaned forward. “Is everything okay?”

Eren’s expression had just collapsed into something… worse. Something bad. All Levi could think about was when they were in the bathroom, Eren crying his eyes out on the toilet. “Um…”

Eren smiled back at Armin and Mikasa, laughing a bit. Was Levi seeing things? He was pretty far away. Eren glanced up from his friends, meeting Levi’s eyes, then he grinned and waved before turning back to his friends as a brown-haired girl and a bald kid ran over. Levi hesitated, then turned back to the table. “Uh, yeah. It was nothing.”

Petra looked concerned. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I just thought I saw someone get hurt, but they got up just fine,” Levi lied. Why was he lying about this? It was just Eren, right?

Levi shook his head, scoffing and changing the subject. “There’s so many kids hiding behind the curtains.”

Oluo scoffed. Levi’s eye twitched. “I bet they’re all first years.”

“Probably, actually,” Eld said, resting his cheek in his palm. “They care the least about the rules.”

“ _They’ve_ never faced the horror that is detention,” Gunter added with a nod.

Petra made a frustrated noise, and Levi didn’t miss the annoyed glance at Oluo. “Maybe we should actually dance. Because, you know, it’s a dance.”

Oluo’s brooding expression broke and he turned to Petra a little faster than he should’ve, shifting the tablecloth and forcing Levi to catch a plate before it fell over the edge. “Do you want to dance with me, Petra?”

Petra looked panicked. “Actually, maybe we shouldn’t-”

“I vote Levi dances with Petra,” Gunter interrupted, nodding sagely.

“Seconded,” Eld added. Levi raised an eyebrow, and Eld shot him a wink. “I think it’d be fun.”

Petra turned bright red, but she got to her feet, brushing of her blue dress. “Okay, okay.” She met Levi’s eyes. “Shall we?”

Levi paused. Why was he hesitating? It was just between friends, right? He hasn’t really known Petra long enough for her to develop deep feeling for him. So then…

He got to his feet, nodding to her. He was about to start walking when he heard the sound of the doors to the ballroom slam shut. He looked to them quickly, but he couldn’t see anyone entering or leaving. “What was…?”

He felt someone grab his arm and yank him away from the table. He turned around. “Huh?”

Armin dragged him further away, behind one of the curtains further from the wall to hide them from the dance floor. He faced Levi as soon as they were hidden. “Was Mikasa following us?”

“What? No.” Levi blinked. “What’s going on?”

“Eren ran. I have no idea where to.” Armin bit his lip, glancing at the doors. “I think- I don’t know. I have the feeling he doesn’t need me and Mikasa right now. I think… I think he needs you.”

“What? Why?” Levi hissed. He glanced back to the doors, ignoring the weird looks Petra’s group was giving him. “Do you know why he ran out?”

“He- he just ran. I think he started crying.” Armin shook his head, pressing a palm to his eye. “He wasn’t doing great earlier this week, either. Ever since that potion’s class, the one where he ran out, he just hasn’t been… the same, I guess.” He met Levi’s eyes with a ferocity Levi’d never seen in him before. “He needs you, Levi. I don’t know why, but he does. Please, go find him.”

Levi didn’t bother to nod, he was already rushing to the doors. Eren, crying, out there in the dark hall all by himself – it made his stomach turn over. Petra stepped forward. “Levi? Where are you going?”

“Eren ran off. I’m going to go find him,” Levi called back. He didn’t take the time to notice their reactions because he was already shoving the doors open, ignoring the shouting teachers.

The doors fell shut behind him, the bang echoing down the pitch-black hall. Levi scanned the black walls. He can’t see anything.

“Eren!” He hissed. He looked both ways down the hall, barely able to make out the walls by the light of the moon, then chose to run left. “Eren!” He called again. No response.

He heard someone whisper, _“Lumos!”_

Levi rounded the corner where the voice came from, seeing Eren curled up with his back against the corner of a display case and his wand alight in his hands. “…Levi?” He breathed. “What’re- what’re you doing here? Is anyone following you?”

“I heard you run out,” Levi murmured back, sliding into a kneel next to Eren. Now that he was closer, he could see the shine of tears over Eren’s cheeks, and the glow of the wand only made it look more severe. “Oh, Eren… what happened?”

Eren lowered the wand, casting shadows over his face. “Nothing. It just got really stuffy in there.”

Levi glanced down at the wand. “Eren, it’s okay. Just…” He wrapped his hand around Eren’s shaking fingers, lifting the wand up again and revealing Eren’s shocked face. “You need-”

“I think they went this way!”

“Follow them! They can’t leave without permission!”

“Shit,” Levi hissed, right as Eren whispered, _“Nox!”_

A light appeared from around the corner, growing brighter as a teacher presumably walked closer. Levi put his hands on either side of Eren and pushed closer. Eren’s breath caught in his throat, and Levi felt Eren’s hands on his shoulders, but he was too worried about the teacher running by to really notice. He felt Eren’s hand slide off and the sound of Eren fumbling with his robes.

“Are you kids out here? If you come out you won’t get detention for as long!”

Levi pressed closer, keeping both of them right against the display case and harder to see. Eren’s cheek was right next to his face – he could feel the body heat. Eren breathed out some words Levi couldn’t hear.

The light was brighter, and brighter, and Levi’s hands curled into fists. Eren exhaled slowly. He seemed calm.

The light came into view, and Levi could see the teacher holding out their wand. They looked around.

Their eyes landed right on Eren and Levi.

Levi was about to spring forward and do… what, he didn’t know. Something to stop at least Eren from getting caught. But Eren’s hand grabbed his robes, telling him silently not to move, and when Levi met Eren’s eyes, they were filled with determination. Eren shook his head, once.

Levi glanced up at the teacher only to see them moving on. They paced down the hall, scanning for them, then went back the way they came with a disappointed huff. The hall fell back into darkness.

Levi let out a breath. He tried to pull away, but Eren’s arms looped around his neck, holding him there. “Eren?”

“Just- just hold still. For a moment.” Eren pulled him closer. Levi wrapped his arms around Eren as well, feeling Eren bury his face in Levi’s shoulder. “Sorry for just running out. You didn’t have to chase me, y’know,” Eren murmured, voice muffled by the fabric.

“I know,” Levi whispered. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Eren hummed. Levi pulled back a bit, searching the darkness to try and find Eren’s face. “ _Are_ you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” Eren’s robes shuffled, his arms falling so his hands could rest on Levi’s shoulders, and Levi realized he had turned away. “I’m fine.”

“Then… do you want to go back?”

Eren’s face shot up. “Ah- no, I don’t- not yet, please-”

“Okay,” Levi whispered. “Okay, we’ll stay.”

Eren breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry. It just felt like- it felt like everything was collapsing on me all at once. I couldn’t just stay there. I’m…” Eren’s hand pulled away from Levi’s shoulders, getting lost in the darkness. “I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Levi murmured. “Is this about…”

“About what? The person I love?” Eren scoffed, and Levi heard him shift again. “Yeah. It’s- it’s whatever. I shouldn’t care.”

“But… you do… don’t you?” Levi murmured.

Eren sighed. Levi felt Eren’s palm rest against the side of his neck, the warmth of his body heat flooding over, just like that night outside. “…Yeah. And I can’t fucking help it. It’s so- it’s so dumb, and I really need to get over it because it’s never going to fucking happen, but I just… I can’t.”

Levi’s eyes were adjusting to the darkness, and he could make out Eren’s closed eyes. “It’s not dumb. Feel what you feel. It’s okay.”

Eren gave a short and painful laugh. “Yeah. If- if only it was that easy.”

Levi was close enough that his chest brushed against Eren’s, so when Eren’s chest rattled with a sob, Levi felt it in his own bones. He pushed close, pulling Eren into another hug. Eren’s arms wrapped around Levi’s back, his fists twisting into Levi’s cloak, his legs curling around Levi, and he buried his face into Levi’s neck and _sobbed_. Levi didn’t say anything. He had no idea what to say. He just closed his eyes, rubbing circles into Eren’s back.

Eren shook his head. “This is so hard,” He murmured. “Why can’t- why is it so difficult for- for me to…” He went still for a moment, freezing under Levi’s touch. “Why can’t I just be together with them…?”

“What’s the problem?” Levi whispered.

“Um, everything?” Eren laughed without humor. “Anything my friends would approve of- they’re the opposite.”

“But you… you like them. A lot,” Levi breathed, like he just realized how deep this went.

Eren shook his head. “I like them… I really, really like them. Fuck, I-” Eren cut himself off, shaking his head again. “It’s really hard. That’s all.”

Levi squeezed Eren tight against him, happy to hear the sobs dying down, although it might be because he was squeezing Eren so hard he couldn’t breathe. Eren didn’t seem to mind. He just hugged Levi back like he was never going to see Levi again.

Then he pulled back suddenly, sniffling. “Hey, aren’t your friends worried?”

“Huh?” Levi blinked.

“Y’know, the people at your table.” Eren cracked a crooked smile that Levi could barely see in the dark. “Did you end up scoring a date with Petra?”

“A- a what?” Levi asked. He was very confused.

Eren tilted his head, his eyes catching the light. “You know. Petra. She asked you, right? She really seemed like she was going to ask you.”

“Oh, no, she just wanted to introduce me to her friends. That was it.” Levi glared back towards the direction of the dance. “I’m pretty sure one of them is copying me, too.”

Eren snickered, pressing the back of his hand to his lips. “I think I saw. Was it that kid that looked like he was held back ten years?”

“That’s him.”

Eren laughed, but it died down so fast it felt like he hadn’t laughed at all. “I could’ve sworn she asked you. She definitely looked like she _wanted_ to ask you.”

Levi cuffed his head. “Don’t jump to conclusions. That’ll get you nowhere.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Eren sighed. He groaned, slapping his forehead. “I totally left Armin and Mikasa without _any_ explanation.”

“They looked pretty worried. Especially your sister.” Levi got to his feet and held out his hand. “Come on. We should get back.”

Eren took Levi’s hand, allowing him to help him up, and as soon as Eren’s face hit the moonlight Levi was struck with how big of a smile had spread across his face. Levi couldn’t help but give a small smile of his own. Eren’s eyes gleamed in the darkness, so bright it felt like they were glowing. They were close. The moonlight hit them just-so, to the point that it felt like they were sparkling.

Levi patted Eren’s cheek. “Let’s head inside.”

Eren nodded. “Yeah.”

As they were walking back, Levi glanced over to Eren, noting Eren tucking his wand back into his pocket. “Thanks. For earlier.”

Eren blinked. “Hm?”

“The spell- charm- whatever it was. You hid us from the teacher, right?” Levi asked, tucking his hands behind his back and staring at the ground while he walked. He could see a sliver of warm light cutting across the hall from the crack in the ballroom doors.

“Oh, yeah, that. It was just a little invisibility spell. It was no big deal.” Eren shrugged.

Levi stopped, touching Eren’s arm. “Hey. Lean down for me. Would you?”

Eren’s eyes widened, then he closed them. He leaned down, and Levi cupped his face, running his thumbs beneath Eren’s eyes and catching the tears. “There. I don’t know if you want to explain to your friends why you were crying, so…”

Eren nodded. “Yeah. I’m too tired now.”

Levi pulled away, resuming walking to the doors. “You ready?”

“Ready as I’ll never be.”

“That’s the spirit.”

The pulled open the doors, the light spilling into the hallway and nearly blinding him after the darkness, and he felt Eren walk in behind him. Eren leaned down. “Thank you. I’m sorry for running off.”

Levi was about to say something back but Eren had already started walking off, moving away from Levi before calling to his friends. Levi pretended not to know Eren and returned to his table. Petra stood when he approached. “Hey. You still want to go dancing?”

Levi hesitated, glancing over to Eren and his friends. “I think I’m good, actually. Dancing was never really my thing.”

“Oh.” Petra turned back to her seat. “…Ok. Sounds good.”

Levi decided to scan the room one last time before he sat down, and his eye caught on a scene in a corner. Sitting in one of the booths, hidden behind a curtain from most of the ballroom, were two girls – a Slytherin and a Gryffindor. They were currently talking, giggling about little things, completely oblivious to the rest of the dance. The Slytherin said something, making the small Gryffindor blush bright red and start waving her arms while the Slytherin laughed. Then the girl’s eyes narrowed and she grabbed the Slytherin girl’s dress straps.

She whispered something and the Slytherin girl went as red as she could be, stammering out something that probably didn’t make any sense. The smaller girl smirked. Then, she leaned it, pressing a gentle kiss to the Slytherin girl’s lips, then returned to sitting fully in her seat with a smug smile playing over her lips.

Levi hesitated, then sat down in his own chair. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin.

If those two can be together, albeit secretly, then maybe…

Maybe there’s hope for Eren yet.


	7. Chapter 7

“Fuck. Shit. Come on!” Levi cursed under his breath, sprinting down the hallway as fast as he could.

Of course he needed to talk to a teacher after class. Of _course_ it was right next to curfew. And of _fucking course_ the damn teacher can’t read a clock, so he didn’t think Levi needed a pass even though it was nearly ten at night because the teacher was as slow as a goddamn snail!

The Slytherin common room was nearly all the way across the school. He was dead. He was so fucking dead.

He can practically feel what detention would bring. He poured on the speed, running as fast as he could, but there was no way in hell that he would get to the common room before curfew. The only chance he had was slipping by Filch.

He skidded to a stop. Or maybe this.

“Levi?” Eren looked surprised. “What’re you doing out this late? Your common room’s on the complete other side of the school!”

“You don’t think I know that?” Levi hissed. “The fucking teacher took so long. I went there at seven. _Seven._ ”

Eren glanced behind him at the direction Levi was running. “You’re not going to make it. Not before ten.”

“Fucking hell. And Filch won’t listen to any excuse I have, will he?” Levi groaned.

Eren looked to Levi, then down the hall, then back to Levi. “Okay. Come with me.” He said that, but Levi didn’t really have much choice in the matter, seeing how Eren had snatched up Levi’s wrist and began dragging him down the hall after him. Levi ran to keep up.

“What’re you thinking?” Levi called. Eren was running at a full sprint, and Levi could barely keep up. “Eren?”

“Probably the dumbest plan I’ve ever thought up,” Eren called back.

Levi looked around at the passing scenery and realized exactly where they were going – the Gryffindor common room. “Eren, what’re you-”

“Just trust me for now, okay?” Eren shouted back. He rounded a corner, and a portrait of a fat lady came into view, forcing Eren to skid to a stop and Levi to bump straight into his back. He whirled around and faced Levi. “Stay out here, okay? And don’t. Move.”

Levi nodded. Eren said some weird word to the portrait hole and hopped in, leaving Levi standing in the hall. Levi looked around. It was dead silent. His nerves were on edge, ears pricking for the sound of Filch stalking the halls. The common room made no noise. The wind outside brushed against the windows, but even that made very little sound.

Levi hesitated, then leaned against the wall beside the portrait hole. If Eren doesn’t come back out, he’s screwed. If Eren didn’t have a good plan, he’s screwed. If Eren messed up in any way, shape, or form, Levi’s screwed.

No pressure.

He suddenly stood bolt upright. Shouting and clashing came from inside the common room, sounds like chairs being knocked over or arguments breaking out. The portrait creaked open and Eren’s face appeared. “Uh, yeah. We should move. Quickly. Please?”

“Wait, what’s going on?” Levi asked.

“Agh! My eyes!”

“Fuck, ow!”

Eren grinned sheepishly back at him, ignoring the screams from inside the common room. “Ready?”

“Wait, what’re we-”

“Good!”

Eren grabbed Levi’s wrist and yanked him through the portrait hole before Levi could even think about protesting. He stumbled into a brightly lit common room, the walls lavishly decorated, but he didn’t really have the time to enjoy it when all the kids inside were screaming and running around in a blind panic.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t realize it would go off!” A girl with blonde hair cried. Bullshit. Her wand was still making circles in the air, keeping the charm flowing and blinding the students. Levi recognized her. She was from the dance.

She met Eren’s eyes. “Hurry up! I can’t keep doing this!” She hissed, spinning the wand a bit faster and pointing to the window with the other hand.

Eren yanked Levi forward, mouthing, “Thanks, Historia.” He ran towards the window, faster, faster, until they were full-on sprinting towards the open window. Eren looked over his shoulder, letting go of Levi’s wrist. “Jump!”

Levi blinked. “What!?” Levi shouted back. He must have misheard Eren over the screaming. He couldn’t-

“JUMP!”

Eren pushed him towards the window until Levi found himself standing on the ledge. It was a long, _long_ way down. Levi was getting vertigo from even looking at it. The wind ripped through the air, tugging at Levi’s cloak, almost ushering Levi out of the window anyways. He debated turning back and letting himself get caught. He might get detention for weeks, and get the shit beat out of him by the Gryffindors, but hey, at least he would be alive.

He looked back behind him. He wanted to ask what the fuck the Eren was thinking, but then he met Eren’s determined eyes, staring at him with a dangerous ferocity. Eren had no hesitation, no wavering confidence.

Levi knew Eren was reckless sometimes. This was a whole new level, but still, he couldn’t help it-

He trusted Eren.

And with that realization, Levi stepped out into the open air, like he was stepping onto an invisible platform, and sent him right over the edge.

How could he, a dirty thief from the underground who never trusted anyone, find the will to trust a boy he barely knew to the point that he would hop out of a window for him? He had a feeling it had something – no, everything – to do with Eren. He’d never trusted anyone like this. This Gryffindor boy had earned the whole-hearted trust of the Demon of the Underground.

Levi realized he had squeezed his eyes shut when he stepped over the edge. He cracked open an eye, then immediately regretted it.

The wind whipped through his hair, over his face, making stinging tears pool in his eyes as the ground grew closer. Closer. Closer. Closer!

“Levi!”

Levi looked above him to see Eren’s hand extended towards him. He didn’t hesitate to latch onto Eren’s wrist and hold tight. Eren’s warm palm flooded over him, sending tingles down Levi’s arm where it was frozen from the wind, and making Levi feel unnaturally safe even though he was still hurtling towards the ground from 90ft up.

Suddenly it felt like his arm had been ripped out of his socket. He clutched onto Eren, seeing the boy laugh. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you!”

Eren held him high above the ground, one hand holding onto Levi, the other holding onto… is that a broom?

Levi didn’t think he’s held anyone’s hand any tighter than he is right now. He’s pretty sure Eren’s fingers were paling from Levi cutting off his blood circulation, but that was the last thing Levi cared about.

Eren looked up at the broom. The broom dipped lower, allowing Eren to find a seat on it, then he helped Levi hop onto the back. Levi shifted hesitantly. “Can this hold two people…?”

“That’s what it’s made for!” Eren chirped, turning so both of his legs dangled over one side. “Mikasa and I used to ride it to the grocery store. Mom always insisted that we go together.” He shook his head. “Kind of annoying. But it’s useful now!”

Levi looked down at the ground, a death grip on the broomstick. That was a long way down. Eren tilted his head. “I’m surprised you trusted me enough to jump out of a window. Actually, that amount of trust is mildly concerning. I could’ve sworn I would have had to push you out.”

“Yeah, well, you haven’t failed me yet.” Levi sighed, looking down at the ground. “Hell of a time for you to fail me, though. Damn.” He looked back up, and Eren’s gleaming eyes caught him off-guard.

Eren looked away. “Still, though.”

“And you looked like you knew what you were doing, anyways.” Levi tried to loosen his grip on the broom, but no, that was _not_ happening any time soon. “I trusted you.”

Eren turned bright red. He looked away from Levi, down at the ground instead. “…This would have been an awful time for me to fail.”

“Yeah. Yeah it would’ve.” Levi really needed to rethink his life choices. As in, he shouldn’t just hurl himself off of buildings for the hell of it. “I’m glad you caught me.”

Eren smiled. “I am too.”

“If you let me fall, I swear to god, I will come back as a ghost and haunt the living shit out of you, Jaeger,” Levi threatened. He appreciated it when Eren looked legitimately scared for a second. He’s glad he’s still _kind_ of menacing, even though he didn’t want his old reputation back.

Eren’s face collapsed into an easy smile. “What would you even do?”

“I dunno. Throw shit around. Turn off lights. Be a general nuisance.” Levi shrugged. “Depends on my mood.”

Eren laughed, bright and wonderful, and Levi almost felt warmer in the biting cold. “I’ll have to be careful, then. C’mon, we should get you back to your common room before Filch catches us out here, too.”

He swung his legs back over the broom, taking off at what was probably a slow flight, but Levi scrambled to wrap his arms around Eren’s torso. Eren stopped right away. “Levi? Is everything okay?” Levi pressed his face into the back of Eren’s robes and nodded. Eren paused. “Wait, have you ridden a broom before?”

Levi looked over the edge of the broom, refusing to pull his face away. He wasn’t really scared of heights, he’s climbed tall buildings before with only his hands and feet, but seeing the ground with nothing beneath him made him dizzy. “…No.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize that. Here,” Eren said, fingers brushing over Levi’s knuckles. “Wrap your arms around my waist instead of grabbing my shirt. Hold on with your legs, okay? I won’t go so fast you’ll be flying off the back end or anything like that.”

Levi did as instructed, probably holding on a bit tighter than necessary, and Eren let out a please hum. “That’s it.”

Eren glided forward like he had been flying for all his life. Knowing Eren, he very well could have. He looped up into the air, the stinging wind fading as they gained altitude, and Levi was actually starting to relax until Eren shot a mischievous grin over his shoulder.

Levi stiffened. “What?”

“This is your first time flying, right? I need to give you the full broom-riding experience,” Eren said, grinning ear to ear. Levi looked over Eren’s shoulder to see tan hands holding tight to the broomstick. “Hold on!”

Then Eren sent them straight into a nosedive.

Levi clutched tight to Eren, the rushing wind snapping through his hair and bringing back the sound of Eren’s laughter. The ground grew closer, but Eren pulled up before Levi was too concerned. They flew up, high into the air, breaking through a low-hanging cloud and dotting Levi’s robe with condensation.

Eren’s laughter carried with them. Levi was too busy squeezing his eyes shut to really laugh. Or scream. Either would work.

“Levi!” Eren called back. “Look around! It’s cool, trust me!”

Trust him. Levi cracked open his eyes, seeing clouds and stars and the reflection in the lake. Eren traced loops in the air, twirling around a cloud and running his hand through the fluffiness. Levi hesitated, but held his hand out, feeling water droplets hit his skin.

Eren dipped down again. The clouds disappeared behind them, the dark lake filled with stars coming into view. Eren dropped low enough to skim the water with the bristles of the broom, and Levi could see Eren’s grinning reflection in the water, meeting Levi’s eyes through the surface. His eyes were so unimaginably green, even in a dark reflection.

Eren pulled up again. Levi was getting used to the wind over his skin and the sounds of Eren’s whoops and hollers. This flying, the wind, Eren’s joyful cheers – it all gave him a rush, one unlike he’d ever felt before.

Eren slowed to a stop. The castle was far below, the warm lighting spreading across the grass, giving the grounds a soft glow. Levi managed to pry his cheek away from where it was cemented to Eren’s back to look around.

It was nothing short of breathtaking. Even the forbidden forest looked beautiful from up here.

“Isn’t it nice up here?” Eren sighed. “I sneak up here sometimes. It’s always quiet. And empty. Probably because it’s 200 feet up, but still.” Eren looked over the grounds, a soft smile on his lips. “I’ve never seen the view at night… It’s beautiful.”

Levi took his time observing the scenery. From the glowing castle lights to the stars reflected in the lake, all the way up to the fluffy clouds above them and the vast sky stretching out for what feels like forever… it was awe-inspiring. Levi closed his eyes, feeling the wind whip around his form. “…It sure is.”

He opened his eyes and met Eren’s green ones. Levi always knew Eren’s eyes were expressive. He always knew that, but right here, right now, they were dancing with so many emotions that Levi couldn’t even begin to decipher any of them. If Levi looked closer, he could make out every star in Eren’s pupils, a perfect mirror image of the night sky.

He always knew Eren’s eyes were expressive. He always knew they were stunning. But this was just a whole new level of unfair.

Eren’s heartbeat spiked beneath Levi’s palm. Levi let out a soft breath, the cold making his breath fog a little bit and stinging his lungs. He looked up. “Oh, hey…”

Eren looked up too. Dancing down from the sky were little white snowflakes, catching on their hair and clothes before making their way down to the ground. Eren smiled. “I didn’t realize snowy weather was this close.”

Levi nodded. When he looked back, Eren’s face was mere inches away.

Snow caught on Eren’s hair, a few sticking to his long eyelashes, and they were close enough that Levi could see the intricacies of the snowflakes. It was beautiful and fascinating, all at the same time.

Eren gulped, turning his face away. “Uh, we should probably get you to your room. Yeah?”

Levi automatically clutched tighter to Eren in case Eren decides to put them in a sudden nose dive again. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

Eren hummed, tilting the end of the broom down and sending them in a gentle spiral towards the castle. Levi pointed out the window close to the Slytherin common rooms. Eren pulled up right next to it, helping Levi through until he was safely standing in the hallway.

Eren shifted so he was sitting with both legs on one side of the broom again then pulled up to the window, resting his arms on the ledge. “How was that for your first time on a broom?”

“Terrifying,” Levi stated, fixing his horribly wind-blown cloak.

“Oh come on, you had fun,” Eren chided. “Admit it.”

Levi gave Eren a long stare, then reached out, fingers brushing over Eren’s face, then he grabbed Eren’s cheek and pulled. _Hard._

Eren flailed, trying to yank Levi’s hand away without much luck. “Ow ow ow! Okay! I’m sorry, okay!”

Levi let go and let Eren nurse his cheek. Eren jutted out his bottom lip in a pout while he cradled his face, looking away from Levi with… was that disappointment in his eyes? Levi reached out again, this time to ruffle the boy’s hair. “It wasn’t bad, brat.”

Eren glanced up at him, as if he was making sure Levi was telling the truth, then his worried expression collapsed into a smile. “Good. Good, I’m- I’m glad.” The smile was a bit goofy and lopsided, especially because one of Eren’s cheeks was turning bright red. Whoops.

Levi smiled himself, albeit a small one. “Now get back before Filch catches you,” Levi urged. “And thank you for getting me here.”

“Anytime,” Eren whispered back, pulling away from the ledge. “I’ll see you in potions class.”

Levi nodded, and with that, Eren zipped away into the night. Levi watched the night sky for a moment, then turned back to his common room. It was nearly ten-thirty. He should be in bed for sure.

~~~

“Alright then, class. Off to your spells. If you’re not sure of anything, come get me – I’ll be sure to help you out.”

As soon as the words left the teacher’s mouth the entirety of Eren’s charms class got to their feet and b-lined for their friends. Eren got up as well, waving to Armin and Mikasa.

Armin set down the spell book on their desk with a huff. “Okay. We can either do a spell to turn one of us green, or an empathy spell, or a flying spell. That’s what the teacher’s grading us on for now.”

There was a moment’s pause, then all three of them said in unison, “Empathy.”

Their past experiences with flying spells never turned out well, most of the times involving them landing on their face and one other time ending with Armin stuck in the chandelier. And, well, turning green just sounds gross. Especially if they can’t be turned back.

“Okay, three categories here,” Armin murmured, running a finger down the words. “Physical link, emotional link, and telepathic link.” He whistled. “Emotional looks really hard.”

“Which is easiest?” Eren asked. He flipped a chair around, sitting backwards on it right as Mikasa leaned on the desk and Armin took his own seat. They had been friends for a long time now. It’s no surprise that they’ve developed a rhythm.

“Physical,” Armin murmured. “Wanna try that one first?”

“Sure.” Mikasa leaned over, scanning the spell, then readied her wand in Eren’s direction. Eren blinked. He did not remember signing up for this. But it was too late, Mikasa’s wand was waving, and when she pointed it at Eren, Eren’s gut lurched forward.

“Ugh. That felt weird,” Eren groaned. Then he rolled his shoulder, feeling pain in his muscles. “You were working out again, huh?”

Mikasa nodded. “I guess it’s working.”

“How are you so sore and not doing anything about it?” Eren grumbled, feeling tightness everywhere from a workout he never did. Come on, he couldn’t even build muscle from this. “Can you feel everything? Or just the acute stuff?”

Mikasa shrugged. “Here. Feel this?” She pressed the pad of her finger to the table. Eren shook his head. “How about…” Mikasa poked a sharp quill.

“Ow! Fuck, hey!” Eren shook his finger. Oh this is going to suck, considering that Mikasa could hide her pain way better than Eren could. He frowned at her, and her stupid smug face, then turned to Armin. “Can you do the honors?”

Mikasa’s eyes widened. “Wait-”

“But of course,” Armin said, sweeping into a royal bow. Then he grinned, tackling Eren to the ground and tickling him all over. Eren laughed a little bit, but Mikasa busted out in laughter, collapsing to the ground and clutching her side from invisible tickles. Eren wasn’t nearly as ticklish as Mikasa. The only issue was, Mikasa hated being tickled, and she was strong enough to break someone’s teeth if they so much as tried.

Ah, sweet, sweet revenge.

“Stop! Stop!” Mikasa cried through laughter.

Eren had flown into a fit of giggles, mostly because he rarely ever sees Mikasa smile, much less laugh. “Make me!”

Mikasa seemed to take that as a challenge. She got to her feet, shaking through the giggles, and tackled Armin off of Eren. Armin squawked. “Ack! Ground! Crushing!”

Mikasa stood over Armin victoriously. “Oh, you’re gonna pay for that.”

“Don’t worry, Armin! I’ve got you covered!” Eren shouted, grinning. He grabbed his hair and yanked as hard as he could. Yeah, Mikasa’s really good at hiding her pain, but her actual pain _tolerance_ pales in comparison to Eren.

She grabbed onto her hair, stumbling away. “Hey!” She then punched herself in the arm.

Eren flinched, grabbing his shoulder. “Hey!” He laughed again, this time slapping his hands on either side of his face, less to harm and more to surprise. And surprise it did. Mikasa stumbled back, sliding a few chairs out of the way as she tumbled to the ground.

Eren giggled. “Oh my god, we look so dumb.”

“This is great,” Armin said, a bright grin on his face. Even Mikasa was smiling. It was rare that they got to dick around like this in class.

The teacher came around. “What spell is this?”

“Empathy spell! The physical one,” Armin chirped. As if to prove his point, Eren slapped both of his cheeks again, making Mikasa jump.

The teacher smiled, nodding. “Very good! Try some more. This is a completion grade, so do whichever ones you want.” She moved on when a commotion popped up from the other side of the room. Seemed like a flying spell was working. Maybe a bit _too_ well.

Armin looked through the book again. “Telepathic next?”

Eren perked up at that. “Telepathy? Like, reading each other’s thoughts?”

“More like talking in your head,” Armin murmured, running his finger down the page. “You get to control which thoughts you share. Here, Mikasa, I’ll try it on you.”

Eren jutted out his bottom lip. It sounded cool to have secret conversations with someone, but less cool when other people are having secret conversations about him. He watched the little spark fly off the end of Armin’s wand. They both paused. “So? Is it working?” Eren asked.

Armin looked over at Eren, tilting his head. Then he looked back to Mikasa, nodding, and Mikasa nodded back.

Oh this was _so_ not fair.

“Hey! Are you talking about me in there?” Eren frowned his most disapproving frown at both of them. It didn’t seem to do much. “C’mon. Guys!”

Armin giggled, making eye contact with Mikasa, and Mikasa just shook her head. Armin looked back to Eren. Then he nodded, this time making Mikasa cough.

“Oh fuck you two,” Eren grumbled, leaning back against the leg of the table and crossing his arms over his chest. This was seriously unfair. It didn’t help that he _knew_ they were telling jokes about him behind his back. In front of his back. In their heads. Whatever.

“Sorry, sorry, this is just really cool,” Armin said between giggles. “Let’s test it out!”

They did all sorts of tests. First Eren took Armin away from Mikasa and held up a certain number of fingers to see if Mikasa could guess, which she got right every time. Then Eren wrote down a word and showed it to Mikasa in secret, and Armin had to call it out. He got it right, too. Even if he was a bit resistant to shout “DICK” in the middle of class.

For magical science, of course.

“What do you think would happen if we put Eren in on this, too?” Armin asked, flipping through the book.

“I dunno. Some kind of magical group chat?” Eren mused. He laid dramatically on top of the table, crumpling one of Mikasa’s poor scrolls, but Mikasa didn’t seem to care. “You should try it.”

Mikasa frowned. “Shouldn’t we ask the teacher, first…?”

“It says it’s harmless,” Armin said with a shrug. “It should be fine. There’s only a few side effects.” He pulled out his wand, swirling it through the air and chanting under his breath.

Eren flew into a sitting position. “Wait, what side effe-”

Armin flicked the wand, a short spark igniting at the end, and Eren’s brain felt like it had turned into jell-o for a split second before bouncing back again. “Woah.”

Armin grinned. “Weird, right?”

“Uh huh.” Eren tried to focus, but he couldn’t hear either of their voices. “Uh, are you guys talking in here…?”

Armin nodded. “Here, lemme try…”

_“HOW’S THIS”_

Eren flinched back, nearly falling off the desk. “Too loud! Too loud!”

 _“How about this?”_ Came Mikasa’s voice, but it sounded like she was speaking into a pillow.

“Uh, that sounds really weird,” Eren said, rubbing his ear. “What’s going on?”

 _“Oh, side effects.”_ Armin flipped through the book. _“We just have to work out the kinks.”_

Eren blinked, grinning. “Woah, your mouth didn’t move.”

Armin looked up at him. _“Hey, you can hear me?”_

 _“I mean, mostly,”_ Eren shrugged, but this time he didn’t say it out loud. _“Okay, yeah, this is awesome. Can you hear me, too, Mikasa?”_

 _“Yeah. You’re kind of skipping,”_ Mikasa ‘said’ back. _“Like you have bad reception.”_

 _“Yep, yep, I’m on it,”_ Armin’s voice called back. Eren flinched at the loud ringing, then it evened out, then he could hear both of their voices just fine. _“Sweet! I got it working!”_

The teacher walked over, looking between them all. Then she nodded. “Telepathy, huh?”

 _“How did she know?”_ Eren hissed inside his head.

 _“She’s been teaching for years, she can probably tell just by a look,” Armin_ sighed, inside his head as well.

The teacher nodded again. “Telepathy.”

They messed around with telepathy for the rest of class until the bell rang. Armin frowned. “We didn’t get to try out emotions.”

Eren looked over his shoulder, reading the passage on the emotional spell and becoming more and more glad that they ran out of time. The emotional spell wasn’t like the telepathy spell – any emotion inside would be shared with the other person, and vise-versa. It didn’t matter if you hid it, it didn’t matter if you shoved it down, it would rush right out.

Which meant this horrible pain hanging around in Eren’s gut all day would get passed right over, from him to the other.

Yeah, no thanks.

As soon as Armin broke the spell, they packed up their books. Before Eren could leave, though, Armin caught his wrist.

_“Hey.”_

Eren blinked. That was inside his head. _“Didn’t you break the spell…?”_

_“Not with us. I wanted to talk to you.”_

_“…About…?”_

_“You’ve been off, Eren.”_

Armin returned to packing stuff up, his face blank. Eren frowned, but followed suit, shoving his papers and quills away. _“What do you mean…?”_

 _“You’ve been acting weird. Not a bad weird, just… a bit different, is all.”_ Armin slung his bag over his shoulder. _“I don’t know what that Stephile potion did to you, but you haven’t been the same, and I think even Mikasa’s starting to get concerned.”_ Armin closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. _“I’m here if you need me. Mikasa is, too. You just… you have to talk to us, Eren.”_

Eren bit his lip. _“I owe you an explanation, I get it. I’ll tell you when we’re not short on time. Okay?”_

There was a moment’s pause. _“…Okay.”_

Eren sighed, watching Armin walk away with his wand twirling in the air. As soon as he felt the spell lift off of his head, he closed his eyes, pressing his palms to his lids. Fuck, he needed to think this through. What on earth is he supposed to say?

What should he do?


	8. Chapter 8

Levi turned the page in his book, skimming over the words to try and find out what on earth a _‘Gillyweed’_ was. Half of the textbooks he read used too many foreign words for him to make heads or tails of it, and the other half were so old it was practically reading Shakespeare.

He stopped when a hand slapped over the face of the book. He looked up and met a girl’s eyes. “Hey. We need to talk.”

Levi looked behind her, finding no one else in the common room with them. He looked back to her. “About what?”

“Just come with me,” She said, turning on her heel and stalking to the door to leave Levi catching up. Not that Levi did. He got up and strolled after her at his own pace.

She shoved open the door to the common room, revealing the torch-lit halls of the school. Levi stepped over the threshold. “So, are you going to at least tell me where you’re going?”

“To the owlry,” The girl said, as if it was obvious.

Levi shrugged, walking alongside her and studying the castle walls. He was always amazed with how many relics were just laying around the castle. Apparently, the suits of armor would walk around when no one was looking. Even the gargoyles felt like they were watching you, and, as Levi thought about it, they probably were.

The girl pulled open the door to the owlry. As soon as she stepped in a swarm of birds flocked around her, cooing and calling in gentle tones until fluttering back to their original perches. Levi sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Why did you bring me here?”

“I wanted to ask you a question, and then maybe teach you a little something.” She tilted her head. “You’re the one who joined late, right?”

Levi eyed her. “What about it?” The girl looked him up and down, and it reminded Levi a lot of how Kenny looked at him when they first met. Cool. Calculating. He looked her up and down too, and he realized how similar she felt to his old friends. She had this air about her, something Levi would recognize anywhere.

The stink of the underground.

She looked out at the sky. “You ever send an owl?”

“No.” Levi followed where she was looking, seeing the night sky stretching out for miles.

“Lemme teach you. Here,” She extended her hand. “My name’s Ymir.”

Levi took her hand. “Levi.”

She nodded, letting her hand drop, and Levi looked her up and down one more time. He didn’t like her, but he didn’t hate her. She felt like she needed his… respect, is all. “Well, I needed to deliver this, so I can show you the ropes,” Ymir said, waving a letter in her hand.

Levi wouldn’t believe for a second that she asked him here for an innocuous question and a teaching moment, but he didn’t care. “Okay. Sure.”

An owl landed on her shoulder, and she stroked it absentmindedly. “This is Fritz.” She motioned to the letter. “Alright, I’m going to deliver this. Here’s how it works.”

She coaxed Fritz into hopping onto her arm, and Levi felt a weight land on his shoulder, although he didn’t bother to look over at it. He smiled a bit when he felt his owl nuzzle his hair, though. Ymir rubbed Fritz’s head. “It’s simple, really. You just give your owl the letter, tell them the address, and off they go.”

Levi hummed. Ymir held out a letter for Fritz to take in her claws and muttered something to her. Then the owl took off into the night.

Levi walked over to the banister, leaning his elbows on it and watching the owl make a loop in the air before dipping back towards the castle. It seems the letter was being delivered inside the school. Levi had an idea of who it was for.

Ymir held out a piece of paper. “Now you try.”

Levi took the paper and quill, laying it on the railing to write. In the middle of scribbling out a word he said, “Now, why did you really bring me here?”

Ymir grinned. “Hm. I like you.” She leaned against the railing, looking out at the sky as Levi wrote. “The real reason why I brought you up here is to talk about a few rules that aren’t explicitly stated. Y’know, in the Slytherin house.”

Levi’s pen stilled, but his eyes didn’t leave the paper. Ymir took that as a sign to continue. “Look, we have a certain… _etiquette_ when it comes to the other houses.”

Levi finally looked up at her. “Oh?”

Ymir shrugged and let out a sigh, eyes flicking over the school’s grounds. A soft smile played over her lips. “You’ve been here long enough to know that the other houses treat you like absolute shit, and you’ve probably been here long enough to know that we’re shitty right back. But-” She turned to face him, leaning towards him and dropping the smile, and Levi met her eyes steadily without backing down. “-if there’s someone out there who isn’t like that, who isn’t shitty towards us, keep them. If there’s someone out there who you don’t want touched, for whatever reason, we’ll back off. And you better back off too.”

Levi didn’t make a move. She watched Levi’s face for a moment, then pulled back, nodding as if she was satisfied. “The Slytherin name will always precede us. That’s just how it is. But sometimes… sometimes you find a good one out of the rest.”

Levi looked back to the letter. Eren, Hanji, Erwin, Petra, all of them.

Ymir leaned on the railing once more, her dark eyes taking in the view of lake. “We don’t make it easy for them to trust us. So if they do trust you, and I mean _really_ trust you, without any bad intentions, then keep it that way. Keep their trust.” She scoffed, looking down at her hands, which were clasped together. “We Slytherins seem to be know for betrayal, so keep those good ones out there good.” She unfurled her hand to look over her palm. “It’s not so bad of a way to live.”

Levi looked down at the paper in his hands, at the words scrawled over it in the messy handwriting of an inexperienced writer. He placed the pen back on the paper, continuing his letter, but he listened to Ymir carefully.

Ymir sighed. “Not all Slytherins follow this, of course, even though most of us try to. But…” She smiled wryly, “…a few bad apples spoil the bunch, I guess.”

Levi finished the last letter of his note, then he folded it up. “Alright.”

Ymir blinked. “Huh?”

“Alright,” Levi repeated. “I was already going to live that way. So alright.” He held out the pen, waiting for Ymir to take it.

Ymir smirked and took the pen, stuffing it into her pocket before motioning to the letter. “What’d you write?”

Levi held up the letter. Scrawled in blue pen were merely the words, _“I hope you’re well.”_

Ymir nodded. “Simple.” She then motioned to the owl still perched politely on Levi’s shoulder, careful and alert, even though it nuzzled Levi’s hair every now and then. “What’s its name?”

Levi gently stroked his owl’s feathers, letting her bump her head against his hand. “Kuchel.”

The name still burned the back of his throat. Even so, it was a name he never, ever wanted to forget, a name he never wanted to dismiss to some back corner of his mind. He needed to remember this name. And as soon as he saw the black and white owl, he thought of her hair, and her dress, and he knew the owl needed her name.

He held up the letter and leaned in close, close enough that he was practically nestled in her feathers, then whispered quiet enough that Ymir couldn’t hear. “Send this to the rest, would you?”

Kuchel nuzzled his hair one last time before plucking the letter out of his hands. He murmured a quick, “Be careful” and Kuchel took flight soaring into the skies. He watched her for a moment, then turned back to Ymir. “Who did you send your letter to?”

Ymir shrugged, already strolling over to the door and ignoring the happily cooing owls that flocked around her. “My girlfriend.” Called it. When Levi didn’t make any comment, she continued. “And you? Looked personal.”

Levi shrugged and followed after her. “…Just family.”

Far away, and after quite a few day’s travel, a black and white owl landed on top of a stone set upright in the ground. She placed a letter there, on top of a short mound of dirt covered with flowers of all types and lush grass. Next to the stone were three more, all with one little mound, each covered in grass and flowers.

The owl preened her feathers for a moment, then took off again, flying away from the stone that was her namesake.

~~~

Eren dragged his pen in agonizingly slow strokes over the scroll in front of him. He knew he should get this essay done as soon as possible, but he was _so_ tired, and every scratch of the quill made him want to fall asleep on the desk. Not to mention, the boy’s dorm was empty. No Connie playing the tuba at 2 am to wake him up.

Actually, no, he was glad about that.

He gagged, his stomach suddenly feeling like it shot through the floor. “What the hell?”

He heard a groan behind him. He spun in his chair, seeing Armin bent over, clutching his stomach. He was about to ask Armin what had just happened, but his brain throbbed this time, feeling like it melted to Jell-O then sprang back. Now _that_ was a feeling Eren never wanted to feel again, but lo and behold, it’s back, still as strong as the other day. He grunted, wrapping his arms around his stomach.

“God, that spell is hard,” Armin groaned. He paused for a moment. “But it worked.”

Eren blinked. A flood of feelings rushed over him, so many that he couldn’t even begin to sort them out. There were mixes of feelings – satisfaction, worry, determination. _Armin’s_ feelings. “What the fuck, Armin? You can’t just cast spells on people like that!” He groaned with another pulse through his brain. “And not when you can’t do them well!”

“I _had_ to!” Armin protested. “You were being so tight-lipped, and I knew this was the only way to get you to talk. Or at least the only way that I could understand!”

“I said I would tell you! When we had time! When I was ready!”

“How long have I known you for, Eren?” Armin asked, finally releasing his stomach.

Eren shook his head. “I don’t know, ten, twelve years? Why does that matter?”

“Because I’ve known you for over a decade, and I _know_ you were going to put it off until you thought I forgot about it,” Armin stated, a hint of anger in his voice.

Eren bit his lip. He had no response to that. Mostly because that was _exactly_ what he was thinking. “I wasn’t-”

“Save it.” Armin motioned to himself, mostly to his gut. “I know you’re lying.”

Eren set his jaw, looking Armin up and down. “Fine. What do you want?” He spat. He knew he was being harsh, but he would rather not talk about how Levi was slowly killing him inside, and how every extra second he spent with the Slytherin boy made it harder and harder. A pang shot through his heart, and he watched with horror as Armin flinched.

“See? It’s something.” Armin crossed his arms over his chest with fake confidence. Eren knew it was fake, because he felt Armin’s nerves in his chest. Fuck, this was getting confusing. “I just want to know what, Eren.”

Eren shook his head. “I can’t tell you.”

“And why not?” Armin asked, stepping aside to sit on Eren’s bed. “I’m here for you. Mikasa’s here for you. All of Gryffindor is here for you, Eren. You just have to-”

Eren’s gut twisted when Armin mentioned all of Gryffindor, cutting Armin off. Armin tilted his head in confusion. “Is something wrong… with Gryffindor…?”

“No, no,” Eren said quickly, waving his hand. _Yes. Yes._ He shook his head of the thought, but Armin felt it, he knew. “…It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing,” Armin mumbled. He pressed a hand over his chest. “Jeeze, Eren, you’ve been hurting this much…? And you never even told us?”

“Because you’re part of the problem!” Eren burst out. His eyes widened, then he clamped his hands over his mouth, shame burning in his gut. “No- I didn’t mean that. I didn’t mean that, I swear.”

Armin’s sadness panged through him like a hot knife. Eren squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his hands on either side of his face like a desperate wake-up call. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean you, I meant…” He groaned. “I meant Gryffindor.” He regretted the words as soon as they left his lips, but fuck, there was no taking it back now.

“What about Gryffindor?” Armin asked.

Eren blinked at the concern that flooded through him. He finally looked up, meeting Armin’s eyes. “I’m… I’m just…”

Armin’s eyes flashed, and he leaned forward on the bed, resting his elbows on his knees. “Eren, think about the problem. Right now. Do it for me.”

Eren was about to tell him no, but then Levi, ‘the problem’, flashed through his head. His silver eyes, the way his lips curved in one of his rare smiles, the relief on his face when Eren caught him. The feel of his fingers mussing up Eren’s hair. The way the snowflakes settled on his lashes, or on his cloak. The red of the cold on his cheeks and nose and ears. His heat. His touch. His everything.

Eren’s heart soared, then it fell, crashing down to the earth like a meteor. Armin flinched. “Oh my god, Eren…”

“Don’t say it,” Eren murmured.

“You’re… You’re in-”

“I said don’t say it!” Eren shouted, getting to his feet so fast he nearly knocked his chair over. Armin jolted back, his fear turning Eren’s blood cold, and Eren instantly felt bad.

Armin locked his jaw. “You’re in _love_ , Eren, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Eren averted his eyes, trying not to break down into tears with their empathy link still holding strong. “Fuck, you don’t have to tell me.”

“Why is this hurting you so much?” Armin whimpered, pressing a hand over his chest. “Did they do something? Do they not love you back?”

“I have no fucking clue,” Eren snapped. He collapsed into his desk chair, letting out a long groan. Armin’s feelings still probed at him, concern again, pain, and curiosity.

“Then why…?” Armin murmured.

“Because I can’t be with them, regardless. Because it’ll never work out. Because it doesn’t matter if I love them, or if they love me, or if we could be together and be happier than ever.” Eren shook his head, scoffing. “Because they’ll never be accepted. And I’ll never be accepted, either.” Eren rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palms, fighting back tears but the thickness in his throat betraying him. Armin went silent. Eren looked over at him in confusion. “Armin…?”

Armin’s brows were furrowed, and he stared intently at the ground. Eren felt his gut churning with Armin’s emotions, confusion, thoughtfulness, interest, swirling together into one big concoction.

Then it lifted. Eren blinked. “Armin?”

“Ah, sorry. I was just thinking.” Armin shook his head, but Eren spotted the barest hint of a smile on his face. A fluttering filled Eren’s chest. Why was Armin so happy?

“Armin, what-”

“Oh, the spell’s still going. Hold on.” Armin whipped his wand out of his pocket, drawing a shape in the air, and the spell shattered off of Eren. All of Armin’s good feelings dissipated, not giving Eren any time to sort through them and find the source. Armin leapt to his feet and grabbed Eren’s hand in his own. “You can trust me, Eren. No matter what. No matter who they are, or what they’re like, I’ll help you. And I won’t tell a soul. Okay?”

Eren nodded dumbly. What was going on?

Armin grinned, patting the back of his hand, then turned on his heel and rushed out of the boy’s dorm. Eren stood in bewildered silence.

What the actual fuck?

~~~

The Christmas season was in full swing, and it was finally time for the school’s trip to Hogsmeade. Eren had talked with Levi, hoping to meet up with him while he was there, but Levi wasn’t allowed to go. Guardian consent was needed, and Levi had no guardians.

Eren was still excited, either way. Just because Levi couldn’t go didn’t mean Eren couldn’t pick out a few gifts for him, right?

Mikasa was currently trying to tame him from springing off the walls of the common room from excitement, but he couldn’t help it. The strange thing was, Armin did nothing, only watched Mikasa wrestle with Eren while giggling his ass off.

“Come oooon we’re leaving in, like, a minute!” Eren whined, prying Mikasa off of him. “We should hurry before the rest of the school crowds the entrance!”

“Okay, you’re way too excited for just a little trip down to Hogsmeade, Jaeger,” Jean scoffed from across the room. “Are you going to go meet a pretty girl there? Douse her with presents?”

Eren turned bright red, properly pulling away from Mikasa this time to march up to Jean and get in his face. “What’d you say?”

“Oh? Am I right?” Jean snickered, sizing Eren up. “Got a pretty girly-girl to give a gift to?”

“The only one getting a gift is you,” Eren snapped. “And that gift is my fist to your fucking face!”

Eren slugged Jean straight across the jaw, sending the horse-face toppling to the ground. Jean grabbed Eren’s ankle and yanked, sending Eren sprawling, but Eren quickly scrambled up to jab a cheap kick to Jean’s crotch. Jean growled, although Eren thought it sounded more like a whinny, and leapt at him from the ground.

Jean never landed, though, as Mikasa had plucked him from the air by his collar. “No fighting. We’re leaving.”

Eren grinned, sticking his tongue out at Jean. Jean flipped him off in turn. Mikasa made a point to drop him flat on the hard floor.

Eren got to his feet, heading straight for the door and pulling it open with glee before ushering Mikasa and Armin through after him. Hogsmeade! Finally! He wanted to go to Honeydukes, find all the sweets that were his favorite and show them to Levi. Levi said he’d barely touched the sugary side of the wizarding world – Eren needed to remedy that.

It felt like forever before they finally reached Hogsmeade. Eren skipped into Honeydukes, a confused Mikasa and a grinning Armin behind him.

Eren scanned the shelves for anything good. He picked out chocolate frogs, every-flavor-beans, pumpkin pasties – all of his favorites, along with a few he thought Levi would like, even if they weren’t Eren’s personal favorite. His shopping bag was filling at an alarming rate.

Armin tugged on his sleeve. “Look over there. Do you think they would like that?”

Eren followed Armin’s finger, which was pointing to a wall of hard candies. “Probably. At least some of them.” He halted. “Wait, no-”

“Called it,” Armin grinned. “I knew it would be for your crush.”

Eren turned bright red, then punched Armin’s arm. “Shut it.”

Armin giggled, rubbing his arm. “Never.”

Eren let Armin help him out, picking out a bunch of hard candies, and some more chocolate, because he _really_ likes chocolate. He loaded his basket with enough sweets to give someone a heart attack – it was the perfect amount.

Someone tugged on his arm. He looked over to see Mikasa holding his sleeve, but her eyes were elsewhere, focused all the way across the candy shop.

Eren followed her gaze, then froze.

Three Slytherins pushed through the open door, shaking snow from their cloaks. Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner walked through the store, laughing with each other, but Eren noticed something strange. Mainly the bruise on Annie’s cheek, not to mention Reiner’s broken nose. Those injuries were new. _Very_ new.

“Come on, Eren. We should get out of here,” Armin murmured.

Eren hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m not in the mood to deal with them today.”

Mikasa started herding them to the checkout counter, but Eren’s eyes lingered, catching on Bertolt’s split lip. What had happened to them?

He froze when Annie’s gaze locked with his. She tilted her head, then smiled, a terrifying sight, considering Annie rarely smiled. Bertolt and Reiner followed her gaze. Reiner grinned as well, and Bertolt smiled, almost apologetic. They were hurt, yes. But they were proud.

Eren’s blood turned to ice. Armin looked back at him. “Eren…?”

“We should go,” Eren murmured, shoving past Armin to the counter. “We should go. Right now.”

“Eren, why-”

Eren met Armin’s eyes, pouring every ounce of his fear and worry in his gaze and hoping to get the point across. “We need to go. _Now._ ”

Armin swallowed, then nodded. Mikasa nudged him forward. “Let’s pay and get out of here.”

Eren nodded. “Let’s.”

As they hurried out of the store, Eren cast one last look behind him. Annie, Reiner, and Bertolt followed him with their eyes. His heart stilled in his chest.

“Hurry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a bit less going on, but there'll be more ;) don't worry


	9. Chapter 9

Eren’s stomach was doing cartwheels as they approached the castle. It was warm inside, the heat that flooded over him a stark contrast to the snow outside, but he couldn’t appreciate it with the worry messing up his thoughts.

He looked to the side to see Historia and Ymir standing side by side, laughing with each other as they leaned against the wall. They must be waiting for the crowd to thin before they could properly sneak off to be together. Perfect.

“Hey, I’m going to go give Historia a gift really fast,” Eren said, facing Armin and Mikasa.

Mikasa tilted her head. “Hm? Why?”

“You know the other day? When I went up to the owlery to send that letter?” Eren scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. “I totally fell asleep. Historia woke me up on her way back to the common room. She’s pretty much the only reason why I don’t have detention with Filch.”

“Goddess,” Armin murmured.

Eren grinned, nodding. “So I’m going to drop these by her to say thanks. I’ll meet up with you guys back at the common room. Okay?”

“Sounds good,” Armin said, ushering Mikasa away before she could protest.

Eren turned on his heel and jogged over to Historia and Ymir. “Hey! I got you something.”

Historia smiled that bright smile of hers that makes almost anyone get down on one knee and call her a goddess. “You did? Really?”

“Yeah. I owed you after you helped me and Levi the other day, so I grabbed this for you.” He held out a pumpkin pastie, smiling when she accepted it. “I don’t know what you like, so I just guessed. Oh, and,” He jerked his thumb back towards Armin and Mikasa “If anyone asks, it’s because I fell asleep in the owlery and you woke me up. Or something like that.”

Ymir leaned forward, peeking into Eren’s bag. “Who’s the rest for?”

“Oh, um- Levi. They’re for Levi.” His gut twisted again, that sinking feeling from before, and he managed to ask, “Where… is he…?”

Historia’s eyes widened, and Eren’s heart dropped to the floor. “Oh, Eren…”

Eren’s face turned three shades lighter. “Where is he.” Nothing bad could’ve happened to Levi, right? He’s too strong for that.

“He’s in the infirmary,” Ymir stated. “He’s not going to die or anything, but he doesn’t look so good.”

Eren’s throat felt thick all of a sudden, and he tried to swallow down the lump. “I-I should go.”

“He’ll be glad to see you,” Ymir said, motioning down the hall. “Go find him.”

Eren didn’t need to be told twice. He turned on his heel and sprinted down the hall, tucking the bag of treats under his arm before he put every ounce of energy into getting his feet moving.

Levi was hurt. Fuck, Levi was hurt. How bad? Was he sick? Or injured? Or worse?

Eren tried desperately to silence his rushing thoughts, but they moved faster than his feet, pounding in his ears like a drum. He reached the infirmary doors and skidded to a stop. Does Levi even want to see him? He hoped Ymir was right, shoving open the doors and stumbling inside.

Madam Pomfrey hurried over to him, looking anxious. “Are you hurt?”

Eren shook his head. “I’m here for Levi. Where is he?”

“Oh, that Slytherin boy?” She asked. “Right this way, dear.”

“What happened?” Eren asked, barely keeping his shaking voice from breaking. Fuck, Levi was in here, which meant he was hurt, which meant- Eren stopped himself before his thoughts could spiral out of control again.

“He’s in quite a state, dear. I’m not entirely sure myself. It was a curse of some kind, and it shattered quite a few of his bones...” She pulled open the curtain, and Eren’s breath hitched in his throat. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it…”

Eren looked down at a very pale, very sickly Levi. His eyes were closed in sleep, but it didn’t seem restful at all, with the way his features kept twitching. Eren swallowed. “He’s resting for now, so please, let him sleep,” Madam Pomfrey explained.

Eren nodded, unable to form words. He stepped into the curtained off area, and the nurse slid the curtain closed, leaving just him and Levi.

He drifted to Levi’s bedside, fingers trailing over the sheets and halting just before his hand. Levi’s arm was wrapped in bandages, and his leg was a lump under the covers, clearly set into a cast.

Eren sunk into the chair beside the bed, too shocked to speak. He looked down at the sweets bag in his hands. He pulled them out, one by one, and placed them on the gift table next to Levi’s head carefully. Levi looked bad now, but something in Eren told him it could have been much, much worse.

Levi wasn’t the type to mess up a spell and hurt himself. And he certainly wasn’t the type to try a spell with this disastrous of side effects.

No. Levi had been attacked.

Eren bit down on his lip hard enough to draw blood. God, he wanted to touch Levi. He checked the curtain, then reached out, lacing their fingers together carefully, like he was going to shatter Levi.

Eren hesitated, then brought Levi’s hand to his lips. He closed his eyes and leaned into Levi’s clammy hand.

“Eren…?”

Eren’s eyes flew open to see Levi’s bleary eyes on him. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean- sorry.” Eren lowered Levi’s hand to the bed, but Levi didn’t let go.

“It’s fine,” Levi sighed, closing his eyes again. His voice was ragged, like he was sick, and it made Eren’s chest clench painfully. Levi cracked open an eye, gazing down at their hands. Eren let go and let Levi’s hand rest back on the bed. Levi started to sit up, and Eren rushed forward.

“No, no, you have to rest. Stop that,” Eren insisted.

Levi batted his hands away. “I’m fine. What’re you doing here?”

“Ymir told me you were here,” He murmured, backing off and letting Levi situated himself into a sitting position. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m doing fine. It’s not the first time I’ve broken a leg or some shit.” Levi sighed. He met Eren’s eyes, tilting his head. “You look constipated again. Do you need to take a shit?”

“No! No, I just…” Eren averted his eyes, not trusting himself to look at the Slytherin boy for too long without feeling absolutely horrible. “How can you be so casual about this? You’ve got a fucking curse on you, Levi!”

“Hey, quiet down if you don’t want that nurse on your ass.” Eren clamped his mouth shut, but his hands refused to uncurl from fists. It wasn’t the broken bones that bugged him, although that made Eren’s chest hurt more than he would like to admit – it was the fact that Levi was hurt because _something_ happened, something that just had to be intentional.

Levi flicked his forehead. “Hey. Why are you so worked up about this?”

“Who did it?” Eren whispered. “It was those three, wasn’t it?”

Levi went silent, and Eren’s heart dropped. Levi shook his head. “I don’t know. Something about the spell, or curse, or whatever they cast – it’s making everything all hazy.”

“Bullshit,” Eren spat before he could stop himself. “You know it was them.”

“I do,” Levi whispered. “But there’s no proof. I can’t say I remember. I only remember shapes. And sounds. Even their voices are all messed up.”

Eren buried his face in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut. “It’s all my fault. They’re after you because of me.”

“It’s fine, Eren,” Levi murmured, reaching forward and touching Eren’s wrists. Eren was honestly thankful Levi didn’t try and deny it. “Like I said, I’m fine. They just caught me off-guard.”

Eren’s hands shook, but he held tight to his robes to keep himself from reaching for Levi’s hand. “How- how could they…?” He jerked up and met Levi’s gaze. “Is the curse dangerous? Do you know if it’s going to…” He trailed off, fighting the bile in his throat.

“Kill me?” Levi finished. “Madam Pomfrey said I’ll be okay. She said that I could probably get out tomorrow, if everything goes well.”

Eren smiled in relief. “That’s good. That’s really good.”

Levi smiled back, looking very tired. Eren tried to hold himself still, but he couldn’t, so he reached for Levi and rested his head on the other’s chest. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

He went still when he felt fingers ruffle his hair. It was soft, and nice, and made his heart hammer in his chest. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.” Eren closed his eyes, relishing in Levi’s touch. Levi’s palms were calloused, but his fingers were soft, so when he would brush against Eren in potion’s class or do things like this it would always catch Eren by surprise. Levi’s hand stilled, but he didn’t move it from Eren’s head. “By the way, what _are_ all of these?”

Eren raised his head from Levi’s chest to see him staring at the mountain of sugar on the bedside table. He had nearly forgotten why he was here in the first place. “Oh, I got those for you, since you couldn’t go to Hogsmeade.” He sat up and pulled out two boxes of chocolate frogs. “Have you ever eaten one of these before?”

Levi took the box from Eren then wrinkled his nose. “Is this the thing that that Gryffindor girl was chasing after? She kept yelling for it to come back so she could eat it.”

 _Sasha._ “Yeah, probably. Here.” Eren opened the box for Levi and caught the frog before it could leap away. Levi leaned back into his pillows, eyes wide. “Here, now you can eat it.”

“Is it- Is that thing alive?” Levi looked a little freaked out, which made Eren have to choke down a snicker.

“Nah, they’re just enchanted to hop around.” He handed the frog to Levi before pulling out his own, waving it around to display it. He took a bite and showed it to Levi. “She? All shocolate.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Levi reprimanded, but he did take a hesitant bite.

Eren leaned in. “Good?”

Levi nodded, and Eren was already reaching for the next piece of sugar. “I have so many more. Have you had Bertie Bott’s every flavor bean?”

“Can’t say I have.”

“Then boy have I got a trip for you.”

Eren began unloading all of the sugar onto Levi’s lap, explaining what everything was, what it tasted like, and, mainly, how to eat it. Eating candy was an art in the wizarding world. Levi watched attentively and tried everything Eren gave him, even if he was resistant to eat more Bertie Bott’s after he got a gross one.

At some point, Eren noticed Levi’s eyes beginning to flutter. He kept talking until Levi’s head dropped to his chest, then he quietly cleaned up, putting away the wrappers and boxes.

He shifted the pillows around Levi so he was more comfortable, tucking the blankets around him as he did. Levi looked like he was sleeping much more soundly than when Eren walked in. Eren half wondered if it was a sugar coma.

Eren hesitated, then reached out, tucking Levi’s bangs out of his face. Levi’s face was truly beautiful, and Eren was sad that he hid it so much. It was strange – Levi was small, but he never seemed weak or fragile. In fact, he had this air of power around him that made him seem terrifying.

So seeing him here, skin pale, breathing ragged – it made something inside Eren snap.

Eren found his hand lingering on Levi’s cheek. His skin was soft, and his hair was smooth to the touch. Eren’s eyes danced down to Levi’s lips, gently parted in sleep, and he remembered how lovely they looked curled into a smile.

He leaned in and pressed his lips to Levi’s forehead. “Goodnight, Levi.”

Levi made a soft noise that made Eren nearly jump out of his skin, but it was only a sleepy murmur. Eren breathed out a sigh of relief. He got to his feet even though his legs felt a bit wobbly.

Every day felt like he was sinking. He didn’t know what to do anymore; whenever he was around Levi, his chest would tighten so much he could barely breathe, but when he leaves, it hurt even more. He tried to tell himself it was just a silly little crush, that it would pass, but it didn’t seem like that anymore.

He stopped at the curtains, casting one last look at Levi. He wanted, desperately, to tell Levi. To lay out his feelings in full, and let Levi be the judge. And of course he wanted Levi to reciprocate.

And he was terrified that Levi wouldn’t.

~~~

Levi walked up the steps to the owlery, letter clenched tight in his hand. He had been let out of the nurse’s office not too long ago. Madam Pomfrey was a miracle worker – he was back on his feet and walking without crutches in a matter of weeks.

He pushed open the door to the owlery. The birds cooed around him, soft and sweet in the moonlight, and Kuchel’s white form sought him out immediately. Levi smiled when her familiar weight landed on his arm. “Hey there, beautiful. It’s cold out, isn’t it?”

Kuchel nuzzled into his hand when he stroked her feathers, then nipped at the letter. He held it out for her to clasp in her beak. “Send this off to Hanji’s parents. Okay?”

Kuchel nipped his fingers in agreement, then took off into the night sky. Levi sighed, watching her go. The way she glided through the air, completely silent, was truly graceful. The peace of the night was calming.

That is, until he heard a string of curses coming from the other owls.

“Fuck off! What’d I do this time?” Eren came stumbling out of the flocks of owls, a vengeful brown owl perched atop his head and pecking his hair hard enough to hurt. Eren batted his hands over his head to try and get it off. “Titan! Let go!”

“Do you need help?” Levi asked, stepping towards them. Eren went rigid, but Titan did not, flopping off of Eren without any grace and flying over to Levi. Levi blinked when Titan landed on his head. “…Huh.”

“I’m sorry, that’s Titan.” Eren rushed over, but Titan dug his talons into Levi’s skull to make it clear he was _not_ moving. “Titan! Let go of him!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Levi said quickly. Titan hooted at Eren angrily, digging his claws in deeper.

Eren shook his head. “He’s not usually like this with other people. The little shit.”

Levi knew he probably looked ridiculous, standing so casually with an owl perched on his head, but he didn’t give a shit. “I’m assuming he’s yours?”

“Hate to say it, but yeah.” Eren frowned, reaching up towards Titan only to have the owl nip his finger. “Fucking hell, work with me!”

Levi suppressed a grin. Eren was currently glaring up at the tiny owl, and Levi had a feeling the owl was glaring right back. Levi reached up and found the owl’s head to give it a pat. “It’s okay. He’s just playing around, right?”

Eren sighed, giving up. “Fine. Stay up there.” Eren looked back down to Levi, then frowned, like he had just registered Levi was there. “Wait, what are you doing up here? Should you even be up?”

“I’m fine now. It doesn’t hurt at all anymore, so I thought I’d just deliver my letter.” Levi tilted his head, feeling Titan’s weight shift to keep himself balanced. “Why’re you here?”

“Same as you. Needed to send a letter to Mom.” He grinned cheekily. “Sorry, I can’t take you seriously.”

“I can’t either. Help me get him off?”

Eren laughed and held out his arm. Titan cooed and hopped over, _now_ working together with both of them, but he squawked loudly when Eren tried to move back. Eren glared down at him. “What is it now?”

Titan hooted at him, snapping his beak in Levi’s direction. Eren groaned. “I have no idea what he’s asking for.”

“Maybe… this?” Levi shuffled closer, presenting his shoulder for Titan to flutter on to. Titan cooed happily. “There, see? I think that’s all it was.” Titan hopped off of Levi's shoulder and took off into the cloud of other owls.

Levi looked up at Eren, Eren’s shoulder still pressed against him and spreading warmth in the cold night. Eren’s arm remained frozen in the air. “Eren?”

Eren slapped his free hand over his face. “I swear that owl hates me.”

Levi smiled, feeling Eren’s side pressed against him. “Is that so? I think he’s cute. He reminds me of you in a lot of ways.”

Eren shook his head. “Asshole.”

Levi scoffed, turning his face away from Eren in order to hide his smile, but it didn’t help because Eren totally saw. Levi felt Eren’s hand drop, circling around his waist. It reeled him in close to Eren, pressing their chests together. He closed his eyes and let the heat wash over him. “You’re warm.”

“Am I? That’s good,” Eren whispered.

Levi cracked an eye open to see Eren’s face inches away. Those damn eyes. “Mind if I…?”

“Oh, do whatever you want,” Eren insisted, and Levi pressed closer into him. Levi rarely ever felt this comfortable with anyone. He used to hate touching people, and he still does, but with Eren it didn’t feel bad at all. Not to mention Eren smelled like cinnamon and pumpkin from eating in the dining hall. That was always nice.

Eren let out a slow breath. “Levi, I… I have something to say.”

Levi pulled back and found brilliant green eyes watching him. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I, um…” Eren’s hands tightened around Levi’s back, his hands fisting into the fabric of Levi’s cloak. “I was just really, really scared. Before, when you were in the nurse’s office? I just…” He gulped down a breath. “I was terrified, Levi. I was so, so scared I was going to lose you, because…”

“Because?” Levi whispered, tilting his head and noticing just how close their faces were.

“Because I care for you, Levi,” Eren murmured, turning his face away. “I was so scared that you were going to die, and I can’t even think about losing you, because I care for you too much, and-” Eren shook his head, and Levi noticed that his skin had turned a bright shade of red, extending from the tips of his ears to his cheeks. “I’m sorry, Levi. I really, really like you, and really, really care for you.”

“I care for you too, Eren,” Levi whispered back. Eren’s piercing gaze was back on Levi in a heartbeat, but Levi held firm. “You know that, right? You’re really important to me.”

Eren blinked. “I am?”

“Of course.” Levi smiled, soft and sweet, and he felt Eren’s arms tighten around him. “You’re one of my closest friends since I got here. You’ve helped me in so many ways. I would have to be an ass not to like you.”

Eren hesitated, then turned his eyes away. “Oh. Yeah, I’m always happy to be there for you, Levi.”

“I’m here for you, too,” Levi whispered back. He rested his head on Eren’s shoulder, really just sapping the warmth off of the other boy, but Eren’s arms weren’t holding on as tight to him as they were before. “Eren? Is something wrong?”

“No.” Eren let out a low breath. “…Could I say something?”

“No need to ask,” Levi murmured.

“Whatever it is that… _those_ three are trying to do… I won’t let them.” His hands trailed up from Levi’s hips to his back, one hand curling into the thick fabric while the other rested on the back of his neck. “I’m going to protect you this time, Levi. I promise. You won’t need to worry about them. Okay?”

Levi frowned at the tone of his voice, but he nodded. “…Okay.”

~~~

Levi sat at the potion’s table, grinding up ingredients dutifully with his mortar and pestle. It was Levi’s turn to taste the potion this class, so he’d rather not mess it up.

“Get your sprouts up at the front of the classroom now, everyone. It should be ready to brew in,” Snape called from the front of the class. He swept his hand out, motioning to the back. “Your partner can get the whisps in the back. Chop both of them as fine as possible.”

“I’ll get the whisps,” Eren murmured, standing.

Levi set aside the mortar and pestle, getting to his feet and searching the room for the sprouts. He still didn’t quite understand potion’s ingredients, much less where on earth wizards would find these things, but it was fun when he could combine them into an actual, working potion.

He reached the sprouts, grabbing the closest one before turning on his heel and freezing.

Annie stood at their station, looking into their potion. Something black was in her hand, and she held it over the cauldron, clearly hesitating. Levi looked to the back to see if Eren saw this too, but he was busy talking with Mikasa. Levi turned back to Annie.

She dropped the black leaves into their cauldron and walked away as if nothing had happened. The potion bubbled, turning a dark color, before settling back into its original blue.

Levi rushed over, throwing the sprouts down and grabbing the spoon to search the potion for the leaves. Nothing came up. They had already dissolved into the potion.

Levi looked from the cauldron to Snape, wanting to report Annie, but the potion looked exactly the same as before, which meant all of his evidence had just melted away. He collapsed into his chair, feeling defeated.

Eren set the whisps down and plopped into his seat with a sigh. He began to reach for the potion, but Levi grabbed his wrist, sending him a warning glance. “Annie came over here.”

Eren blinked. “Huh?”

“Annie. She came over here and dropped… _something_ into our potion. I don’t know what it was, but it didn’t look good.” Eren tilted his head, chewing on the inside of his cheek like he does when he was thinking.

“Are you sure?” He asked after a moment. “It looks the same.”

“I’m sure. I know what I saw.” Levi slowly let go of Eren’s wrist, pulling his hand away. “I wouldn’t lie to you, Eren.”

Eren looked into the potion with a crease in his brows, then to Levi, then to Snape. “What should we do…? Annie’s a top student, it’s not like we can just report her without any evidence.”

“Snape won’t believe me,” Levi murmured. He sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I’m going to have to drink it and just hope it isn’t poison.”

Eren’s eyes widened. “No, that could kill you!” He hissed, and Levi was caught off-guard by the way Eren’s eyes flashed with anger. Eren looked to the potion, then glared up at Snape.

Levi let out a breath. “What else can we do?”

Eren set his jaw, glaring down at the table and the pale whisps floating in the bowl. He slammed his hands on the table, standing up so fast he nearly knocked his chair over, and he put his hand up to get Snape’s attention. Levi grabbed his sleeve, hissing, “What on earth are you doing?!”

“Yes, Jaeger? What is it you need, seeing how rudely you got everyone’s attention.” Snape glared at Eren, but somehow Eren wasn’t cowering under the pressure like he usually did. He cleared his throat, making the entire class sit up.

“Annie put something in our potion, sir.”

Levi’s eyes darted up to Eren. “That’s quite the accusation, Jaeger,” Snape drawled. “What was it?”

Eren set his jaw, glancing down at Levi without turning away from Snape. “I don’t know, sir.”

“Did you see her do it?”

“Not myself, sir, no,” Eren admitted, and Levi felt things going downhill real fast. “But she did. I know it.”

Snape gave him a glare, clearly not believing him at all, but he continued with a cluck of his tongue. “Not very compelling evidence, Jaeger.” Snape’s eyes glinted in the light, and Levi felt the malice behind them, turning his blood cold. He felt the odd urge to place himself between Eren and Snape. “You’re sure of this?”

Eren glanced at Levi. Any hesitation disappeared, and he turned back to Snape. “Yes, sir. I’m certain.”

Snape flicked out his sleeves and crossed his arms over his chest, arching an eyebrow. Levi despised the smug look on his face. “Very well.” Levi stiffened in his chair, and it felt like the whole class inhaled. Snape held a hand out towards the potion. “Drink a cup.”

Levi’s eyes widened, but Eren held steady. How was he doing this?

“If you’re _lying_ to me, Jaeger, I’ll deduct 25 points from Gryffindor and land you in detention for disrupting the class and making such wild accusations about one of this school’s top students,” Snape spat. Every head turned to Eren, one by one. It felt like the tension in the room could be cut with a knife, and Levi watched with amazement as Eren didn’t buckle under the pressure.

Mikasa leapt to her feet across the room. “Eren, don’t-”

“Yessir.” Eren snatched up a ladle and poured himself a cup of the potion without any hesitation. Before he could bring it to his lips Levi caught his wrist.

“Don’t do this,” Levi whispered.

Eren tugged his arm away, and Levi knew there was no reasoning with him now. He looked down at the cup in his hands, hesitating for the first time.

“Anytime, Jaeger,” Snape said.

This time, it was Armin who scrambled to his feet. “Don’t do it, Eren!”

Eren looked at the cup, then his eyes slid to Levi, soft and apologetic. “Better me than you.”

Then he tilted his head back and gulped the potion down.

The entire class went dead silent. Eren pulled the empty cup away, looking down at the bottom as if in some kind of daze.

Levi’s eyes darted over Eren’s face. He sucked in a breath, watching Eren look into the cup for a moment longer, as if waiting for something to happen. That can’t be right. Annie put something in the potion, Levi saw it, so then why was Eren about to get in trouble for something that wasn’t his fault?

He cleared his throat, glancing at Levi, then back to Snape. “It- it seems like it’s fine, sir.”

The class groaned, and Snape clucked his tongue with a shake of his head. “25 points, Jaeger. And see me after class.” Eren nodded. His face burned bright red when the class started snickering at him, and his gaze turned to Levi, something akin to betrayal flashing in his eyes. Levi opened his mouth to say something, anything, but Snape interrupted him. “You can sit down now, Jaeger.”

“Yes, sir,” Eren bit out, teeth clenched together.

Levi’s chest tightened painfully. “Eren, I-”

Eren let out a sudden cough, startling everyone in the class, and it looked like he even surprised himself. “Ah- I’m sorry sir, I don’t know what-” He interrupted himself with another cough. He coughed again, and again, each more raspy and painful. He devolved into a full-blown coughing fit, each worse than the last.

“Eren…?” Levi whispered. Eren jolted violently with each cough, rattling him hard enough that he had to reach out and brace a hand on their desk. Levi realized with a start that Eren wasn’t able to take breaths between coughs with the way this was going. “Eren?!”

Eren clawed at his throat, managing a strangled breath. He gagged, his whole body wracked with coughs, and he sounded like he was just about to throw up. Levi leaped to his feet, running to Eren’s side. Eren dry heaved, clutching his throat and gagging again.

He slumped over, his knees thumping against the ground. He fell to his hands and knees, coughing and gagging and dry heaving. Levi slid into a kneel beside him. “Eren? Eren?!”

Eren took in a strangled breath, coughing harshly. He reached up blindly, holding tight to Levi’s sleeve for support, but his eyes didn’t leave the ground as he heaved again. He lurched forward, gagging. Levi grabbed the hand clutching to his sleeve. “Eren?! Talk to me!”

The class turned into a mess of screeching chairs and rushing footsteps, but Levi was focused entirely on Eren. Eren’s hand held tighter to Levi as he heaved again.

He gagged and coughed, each movement making his entire body lurch. Just when Levi though Eren was going to throw up, his hand slipped off Levi’s sleeve, a last cough dying in his throat, and he crumpled the rest of the way to the ground.

The entire classroom was in an uproar. Levi grabbed Eren and turned him over to see the boy’s eyes blank, rolled halfway into his head. “Eren?! Can you hear me?!” Levi grabbed Eren shoulders and shook them desperately. “Eren! Come on, wake up!” No reaction. Eren’s eyes didn’t even flutter. “Dammit, Eren!”

Snape swept through the crowd, rushing to kneel beside Eren. Levi felt the sudden urge to punch the professor in the face. What was he planning on doing? Just let Eren _die?_

Levi gritted his teeth, forcing himself to turn his attention back to Eren. Fuck, _Eren._ His head had fallen to the side, lips parted, jaw slack – completely limp. Snape pressed his fingers to Eren’s neck. “Nightshade. He’s alive, just barely.” He locked eyes with Levi. “Get him to the nurses office straight away. I’ll start the antidote, but Madam Pomfrey needs to keep him alive until then.”

Levi didn’t have to be told twice. He scooped Eren up into his arms and sprinted for the doors. Eren was dying. Fuck Eren was dying in his arms right now and it was all Levi’s fault.

He ran as fast as he could, cradling Eren in his arms. Eren’s body was limp, lifeless in Levi’s arms, and with every step Eren’s weight seemed heavier, and heavier. It didn’t drag down Levi’s arms, though, it yanked at his ribs. Levi bit his lip, holding Eren tighter. He couldn’t give up now.

Two sets of footsteps ran behind him. “Give him to me!” Mikasa shouted. “You got him in this! You’ll just make it worse, give him to me!”

“It’ll just waste time, Mikasa!” Armin shouted back from Levi’s left. “It’s faster with him carrying Eren! We need every second!”

“But he did it!”

“No, Annie did!”

Levi could practically _hear_ Mikasa’s thoughts. ‘Yeah, and Annie’s a Slytherin, and all Slytherins work together’. Bullshit.

He ignored them, just holding Eren tighter. There was no point in talking, it’ll just waste time and energy. He looked down at the boy in his arms.

His hearing was growing warped and twisted, like his head was stuck underwater, and the longer he looked at Eren, the worse it got. His heart thrummed, and Levi wondered if Eren could feel it through his chest. “Please, please be okay,” Levi whispered. Eren didn’t respond.

Armin and Mikasa dashed past him and threw open the doors to the nurse’s office. Madam Pomfrey looked surprised at the sudden intrusion, but Levi was too frantic to care. “He was poisoned with Nightshade.” He carried Eren to a cot, laying him down gently before looking up expectantly at Madam Pomfrey. “You have to do something. _Please.”_

Madam Pomfrey felt Eren’s clammy neck and forehead. “How long has it been since he was poisoned?”

“Only a few minutes,” Armin said.

Madam Pomfrey started producing bottles and potions from her pockets with alarming speed and accuracy. She ringed out a wet washcloth and put it on his forehead. “He’s breathing. This strain must be dangerously potent if he’s like this after only a few minutes – is someone out to kill him or something?”

Levi was silent. His hands twitched, desperate to reach out and just touch Eren, his hair, his cheek, anything, but he wrestled his fists to his sides. “It seems like it.” He wanted to push Eren’s bangs out of his face. He wanted to close Eren’s eyes. He wished he could just… _touch_ Eren, and make sure he was okay, even though he knew that wasn’t the case.

No one was out to kill Eren. They were out to kill Levi. And this was all Levi’s fault.

Madam Pomfrey shook up a vial, turning to face the three of them. “Hold him down.” Levi held Eren’s arms down while Mikasa and Armin took his legs. Madam Pomfrey propped open Eren’s mouth, popping open the bottle and dumping the contents down Eren’s throat.

Eren coughed, but Madam Pomfrey clamped her hand over his mouth. “Hold on!” Eren’s body spasmed, writhing beneath Levi’s touch, but Levi held strong, teeth digging into his lip.

Eren’s eyes fluttered, then dropped closed, his body going still. Madam Pomfrey took her hand away carefully. Eren took a shuddering breath, sinking back into the pillow.

“When was this?” Madam Pomfrey asked.

“During potions,” Armin informed, his eyes not straying from Eren.

“Snape’s already working on an antidote?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Heaven knows he needs it.”

Levi finally tore his eyes away from Eren to see Mikasa glaring daggers at him. Pomfrey cleared her throat. “Who did this? Do you know?”

“Slytherins,” Mikasa muttered at the same time Levi said, “Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner.” Mikasa glared at him again, but he ignored her.

Pomfrey felt Eren’s cheek with the back of her hand, sighing. “We can’t do anything right now. He needs to recover.”

Levi tried not to focus on Eren’s face, but he couldn’t help it. The boy’s usually tan and glowing skin was pale, clammy, and every breath he took was pained. It was like Levi’s curse, but much, much worse. “Eren…”

Mikasa stood at Eren’s bedside. She reached out, tucking Eren’s hair out of his face and pressing a kiss to his hairline. She glared up at Levi.

Levi stared right back at her, finally getting a good look. Something about her… it gave Levi a certain _feeling_. He would bet they were more similar than Mikasa would like to admit.

He knew he should leave and let Eren’s closest friends watch over him, but he couldn’t get his feet to move away, no matter how much he tried. He met Armin’s eyes, and Armin nodded back. He could stay.

Levi hesitated, then reached out, tucking Eren’s hand into his own as subtly as possible. “C’mon, Eren…” He whispered, mostly to himself. “Wake up. Please.”

Eren took a deep breath, chest rising and falling, but he didn’t stir. Levi squeezed Eren’s hand, like Eren did for him.

“Please,” Levi breathed. “Wake up.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving!  
> Special little treat ;)

Armin closed his eyes, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Eren hadn’t so much as stirred for the past two days. Snape explained that the antidote would take time to make, but he never said how long, or if it would be done in time.

Eren’s breathing was still ragged. Sometimes it would cut off, making Armin’s heart leap into his throat, but it would pick up again after a hanging moment. He swears Eren was going to kill him. And he wasn’t even awake.

Armin managed to peek between his fingers. Eren’s skin was clammy, his usual tan glow pale and sweaty. His eyes would twitch sometimes, but they never opened.

Armin let out a breath. He’s never seen Eren this vulnerable before. He’s also never seen Levi, who always seemed so emotionless on the outside, looked so panicked when Eren slumped over. And once Eren was in his bed, when he was forced to explain what happened to a teacher, his expression morphed into one of such anger that Armin nearly took a step back.

Apparently, the trio of assholes that came for the Gryffindors have been targeting Eren again. But for how long? And for how long has Armin had no idea?

“They’re getting expelled, you know,” Armin whispered. “Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner? A bunch of people came forward. Levi was one of them. He told- he told the teachers everything, I think. It was more than enough to get them expelled.” He shook his head with a sigh, trying to sort out the thoughts running amok in his brain. “I don’t know what he said… but the teachers… they looked so grim. What did they do…?”

Armin reached out, squeezing Eren’s hand. “You can’t just keep us in the dark about these things.” He moved Eren’s hair out of his face with his other hand, ignoring the sweat tracing down Eren’s temples and the breath stuttering in his throat. “I only figured out about your crush because of that spell. I know it was a dick move, but I knew you were keeping something important from me, and something that was really hurting you. I couldn’t do nothing. I’m sorry.”

He took a deep breath. “But I had no idea about this. Eren, they almost killed you. And you didn’t think you could tell us? Tell me and Mikasa?” He squeezed Eren’s hand, trying to fight the warmth pooling behind his eyes. “Do you trust us that little?”

Eren took a deep breath, but he didn’t stir any more than that. Armin’s heart felt cold in his chest.

“I think… I think I know why.” He bit down on his lip, hard enough to make pain burst inside his mouth, but it did nothing to stop his racing thoughts. “I only saw a little bit. You didn’t… you didn’t _sacrifice_ yourself, right? You didn’t nearly kill yourself for Levi?”

No reaction. Armin didn’t know why he was talking to Eren when he was unconscious and won’t register anything he said, but hell, he’d started, and he couldn’t stop. “This _thing._ Whatever it is you feel towards Levi. It’s serious, isn’t it?”

Armin brought Eren’s hand to his mouth, squeezing his blurry eyes shut. “Please, tell us. When you’re awake, on your own, tell us about him.

“Don’t do this on your own. Please.”

~~~

Mikasa stood at the entrance of the dining hall, looking out over the tables full of students. She wished Eren was here. He somehow never lost his excitement over the school food, even if he only ate his favorites every day. He had this weird way of making everything around him brighter, more exciting.

He was warm. That was the best way she could put it. His smile could light up a room, make things feel better, warmer, not as frigid as everything else in her life up to when she met him. She wanted to be by him every moment she could.

When her parents died, she was lost. She had no idea what to do after such a tragedy. She just felt cold, all the time, so when Eren gave her light and warmth, she couldn’t let go. She couldn’t stand to lose Eren. She was afraid that she would shatter, be broken beyond repair, if something were to happen to her brother.

So now? Now she’s feeling it again. She’s cracking, and the cold is seeping in once more.

She began to step into the dining hall, but someone caught her arm. She turned to find silver eyes fixed on her.

“You’re Eren’s sister, right?” Levi asked.

Mikasa yanked her sleeve out of his grasp, her lip curling as she glared at him. “And you’re the one that got him into this mess.”

Levi didn’t respond to that, which means he was either admitting he had a hand in this, or he was ignoring her. She didn’t know which one pissed her off more.

Levi glanced over his shoulder, back down the darkened hall where more students were filing into the dining hall, then back to Mikasa. “…Come with me.”

Mikasa increased the strength of her glare, but Levi had already turned on his heel and walked away. She itched to just let him keep walking. She was so pissed lately, and she knew that talking to a Slytherin would help nothing, especially one so close to what happened to Eren.

Reluctantly, though, she followed.

Levi stopped a short distance from the doors, turning to lean on the display case behind him. Mikasa stopped in front of him. “What is it you want?”

“You’re pissed,” Levi stated. “I know. You’re pissed at me, you’re pissed at Annie, and you’re probably pissed at all of Slytherin.”

Of course she is. They hurt – no, they nearly _killed_ Eren. She narrowed her eyes, glaring at Levi’s unflinching face. “Yes.”

Levi crossed his arms over his chest. Mikasa felt his eyes boring into her, but she didn’t care. She was too pissed to give a shit. He hummed. “Good.”

Mikasa blinked. “…What?”

“Good,” Levi repeated. “I need a favor from you. Come with me.” He pushed off the display case, shoving his hands into his pockets and already walking down the hall, which irked Mikasa to no end.

“Why should I?” She spat.

Levi stopped, glancing over his shoulder at her. “Because I think you’ll like it.”

Mikasa debated for a moment, only a moment, before walking down the hall beside Levi. “How do I know that you’re not just leading me into some trap?”

“You don’t,” Levi said. It was brutally honest, yeah, but Mikasa trusted this much more than if he had tried to scramble for a half-assed excuse. “You have my word that it isn’t, even if you don’t trust me. And besides-” He glanced sideways at her, taking in her appearance from head to toe. “-I’m sure you can handle yourself just fine.”

His eyes dropped to where her hand was shoved into her pocket, clutching the wand hidden there. She gulped, fingers tightening, but Levi said nothing of it.

They continued walking, a silence falling between them. Mikasa let herself fall a step behind Levi, keeping him in front of her and in her line of sight. The light of the dining hall faded behind them. With every inch the shadows closed in, Mikasa’s anxiety and suspicion skyrocketed. But it was like Levi said – she could handle herself just fine. All of the teachers acknowledged she was one hell of a wizard, one of the best to go through Hogwarts, and she was a damn good fighter otherwise. She held her wand a little tighter and pressed on.

Levi stopped in front of a blank wall and said what Mikasa guessed was the Slytherin password. She took a step back. “What’re we doing here?”

“Helping me repay a debt,” Levi said, holding open the door-wall-thing and waiting as if it was obvious. “Do you trust me?”

“No.”

“Good.”

Levi stepped inside, and Mikasa followed after. Just what the hell is she getting herself into?

The lights were dim, making Mikasa’s nerves tingle at the thought of a trap. She walked further, the hall opening to the common room space, she saw Slytherins talking and relaxing and having… _fun_.

She wasn’t sure what she had expected, exactly. A trap, maybe? Or maybe a bunch of Slytherins crowding around a table in the center of the room, plotting about who to target next. Not… a group of friends playing cards, a boy working hard on homework in the corner, someone stoking the fireplace to keep the common room warm, and two boys planting a fake spider on a girl’s head who had fallen asleep.

The door closed behind them, drawing the Slytherin’s attention. Then their eyes drifted to Mikasa.

In an instant, the cheerful atmosphere disintegrated. The students shot to their feet, some looking wary of Mikasa, others glaring daggers at her. Mikasa’s hand tightened around her wand. Before she could do anything, Levi stepped between them, placing himself between her and the common room.

“Why’re you here?” A student hissed.

Levi glanced back at Mikasa, his hands still tucked into his pockets. “She’s not here for you.” Mikasa had the feeling he wasn’t just telling the common room this, but her, too. “She’s here for Eren.”

“For Eren?” A girl with dark hair and freckles arched an eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s not for you instead?”

Levi narrowed his eyes, and the girl put her hands up in surrender. Mikasa looked between the two. Levi being here for Eren? And Mikasa being here for Eren, too? They said nothing else, though, and another Slytherin boy stepped up, interrupting Mikasa’s thoughts. “Why should we rat out one of our own? For some… _Gryffindor_ bitch?”

“Why, you-” Mikasa surged forward, but Levi threw his arm out, stopping her from advancing. “Have you _seen_ Eren? He can’t- He can’t fucking _wake up_ , he just stays there, in so much pain! And it’s all your fucking fault!” she shouted.

That was, apparently, the wrong thing to say. Everyone glared at her, and even the girl with the freckles that seemed to have been on her side closed herself off. Levi shot her a warning look.

The boy scoffed. “Why should we care?”

“He almost died!”

“Not our problem.” He crossed his arms, fixing her with a challenging glare, and she met it with equal ferocity. “ _We_ had no part in this.”

“Eren didn’t either,” Levi spoke up. The common room went quiet, mostly out of confusion. He glanced back at Mikasa, making sure she wasn’t about to run by him, then lowered his arm. “He wasn’t the target. It was me.”

The common room fell into a stunned silence. It took Mikasa a moment to register what Levi had just said, considering how casually he stated that there had been an attempt on his life. “I saw Annie put it in to the potion,” Levi continued. “I didn’t know what to do, so I told Eren. He knew it was my turn to drink it, and he knew that it was most likely poison. He knew, and he… he drank it anyways.

Mikasa pulled her scarf up to her face, the scarf Eren gave her. “…Suicidal bastard…” If what Levi was saying was true, then why would Eren go so far for Levi? For a goddamn _Slytherin?_

“A Gryffindor sacrificing himself for a Slytherin?” A girl in the back of the room scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. “Don’t make me laugh. It’s insane!”

“It’s not impossible,” Levi said, making steady eye contact with the freckled girl from before.

The girl bowed her head. A soft smile crossed her lips, like she was remembering something she was fond of, then she nodded. “It’s not unheard of. You guys know that, too.”

The other girl scoffed. “But _she_ would never-”

“ _She_ would,” the freckled girl said. “In a heartbeat. And you know I’d do the same for her. She’s one of our own, practically.”

The Slytherins looked uncomfortable at this. Finally, the boy stepped forward with a sigh. “We never harm one of our own, but… they tried to harm you. And they hurt one of the…” He glanced at the freckled girl. “They hurt one of the good ones.”

The freckled girl smirked, folding her arms over her chest and nodding to the door behind her. “In there. You’ll find all three. They’re packing.”

Levi nodded, stepping forward, and Mikasa followed, her hands curled into fists at her side. They walked through the common room, the Slytherins parting silently. They looked suspicious of Mikasa, but they let her go without comment. The freckled girl caught Levi’s arm. “They’re about to be expelled.”

“I’m counting on it.” Levi nodded.

The girl smirked. “Beat their asses.”

Levi pushed past her, reaching the door and holding it open for Mikasa to step through. After a moment’s hesitation, she did. They stood in another dimly lit hall, the soft glow of the Slytherin common room fading behind them, and Levi started walking up a set of stairs with Mikasa following behind.

Levi paused halfway up. “Still think all Slytherins are the same?”

Mikasa remained silent.

Levi sighed, stopping in front of a second door. He pulled his wand out of his pocket, and immediately alarms went off in Mikasa’s head, but he kept it at his side and shoved the door open.

Three Slytherins looked up from where they were sitting around a bed, and Mikasa recognized them as the faces she saw right before she was locked into a dungeon, and the faces she saw right when Eren fell.

_“You.”_

Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner stopped packing their bags. “Oh.” Annie stood up straight, arching an eyebrow and resting a hand on her hip. “Are you here about your brother?” Annie frowned, fixing Mikasa with the strongest glare possible. “How did you get in here?”

Bertolt’s eyes flicked from Mikasa to Levi. “Wait, did _you_ let her in here?”

“She deserves this much,” Levi said. He cracked his knuckles, staring straight at Reiner with a deadly glare. “I deserve this, too.”

“So you’re here for yourself.” Reiner folded his arms over his chest, glaring right back at Levi. “Do you need a leg broken again?”

Levi let out a ‘tch’ sound. Mikasa stepped next to him, her eyes narrowing to dangerous slits, but stayed locked onto Annie. “You tried to kill him, didn’t you? You almost killed Eren!”

“We didn’t _want_ to hurt Eren. Just this ass kept stopping us from talking to him.” Reiner scoffed. “We wanted you gone,” He continued, pointing to Levi. “You ass. Eren was just caught in between.”

Mikasa glanced at Levi, who tightened his hand around his wand. This emotionless Slytherin midget… protected Eren…? And Eren sacrificed himself for him in return?

What happened between these two? What is she missing?

“And you almost fucking killed him,” Levi hissed. “Don’t you dare think you’re going to just leave this school quietly. You don’t deserve being expelled.” He stepped forward, an almost feral growl in his throat. “That’s too good for you.”

Annie narrowed her eyes. “And you think you can take us, two on three?”

This time, Levi and Mikasa spoke at the exact same time. “ _Easily.”_

Annie jumped straight into a kick, closing the distance in a heartbeat, her foot aiming straight at Mikasa’s head. Levi slid in front of her, blocking Annie’s kick with ease. Mikasa twisted around Levi, sweeping Annie’s foot out from under her while her attention was diverted, and the blonde girl was sent toppling to the ground.

Levi pressed his foot on Annie’s back to keep her down. “I’m not as good with spells.” Ne looked up at Mikasa, then back behind him at Bertolt. “Do me a favor and get that wand away from him.”

Before Mikasa could make a move Bertolt aimed his wand at her. _“Confringo!”_

A blast of fire shot out of his wand. Mikasa blocked it with her own spell, deflecting it out of the way. Her arm twinged from the force of the blast. She’s dueled witches and wizards of all kinds before, but none have felt so strong – it felt like a blast from a magic cannon. Bertolt fired off another one, and she deflected again. She couldn’t let him keep doing this.

Levi suddenly moved behind her, and Mikasa realized Annie had just swung a knife up at his thigh. He caught her arm, yanking it higher, and pressed his heel into her shoulder. He pulled harder, until she was forced to drop the knife.

Mikasa gasped when she heard Reiner bark out a spell. She turned to Levi, shouting, “Duck!”

Levi immediately hit the ground, no questions asked, and narrowly avoided the blast that landed right where his head had been. He rolled away from Annie, who had leapt to her feet as soon as she was free. His eyes shot to the ground. His wand was still by Annie. He held out his hand, yelling, _“Accio wand!”_

Mikasa slid in front of him to block a blast from Bertolt as Levi’s wand landed in his hand. Reiner charged forward, but Mikasa’s wand was already trained on him.

_“Confringo!”_

She wanted to go light on the blast. Not out of mercy, no – she wanted them conscious. She wanted them to hurt.

Reiner flew back, landing against the wall with a horrible cracking sound, and when he sunk to the ground Mikasa saw a crack in the brick. How much muscle was on that kid? Either way, he sunk to the ground, knocked unconscious. Whoops.

Someone grabbed the hood of her cloak and yanked her down. She bent with it, allowing Levi to pull her out of the way of Annie’s blast before hopping to her feet. They both trained their wands on Annie. Right as Levi shot the wand out of her grasp Mikasa blasted her back into the ground. She groaned, clutching her ribs.

Before Annie could get up, Mikasa grabbed her arm, pinning it behind her back. She heard Levi shout, “ _Stupefy!”_ followed by the sound of Bertolt’s body hitting the floor.

She flipped Annie over, stomping her foot onto Annie’s chest to keep her pinned. She pressed her wand to Annie’s throat. _This one_ , this is the one who personally poisoned Eren. She’s the reason why Eren was stuck in the hospital bed, barely able to breathe. It was all _her_ fault.

Annie glared up at her with a grim determination, like she was daring Mikasa to do it, whatever it was. Mikasa’s blood was on fire. She’s never been this furious in her entire life. Her vision was tinged with red, her hand clutching the wand so hard that her fingers were trembling with rage.

She should blast Annie to pieces. She should make Annie feel the pain Eren’s feeling.

So many spells danced on the tip of her tongue, growing darker and darker with every thought. _Slugulus Eructo. Confringo. Reducto. Crucio._ Anything. She deserved everything.

She raised her wand, arm quaking. Before she could bring it down, a hand caught her wrist, snapping her out of her blinding anger.

Levi glared down at Annie, still holding tight To Mikasa’s wrist. “Look, I never know what the right choice is, and I’ve made a lot of shitty choices,” Levi muttered. Mikasa didn’t dare take her eyes off Annie. “I still don’t know if the other choice was the better one. But I make the choice I won’t regret afterwards. So,” he let go of Mikasa’s wrist. “make sure this is a choice you won’t regret.”

He stepped away, and Mikasa gritted her teeth. She raised her hand, then swung it down, smashing her fist right into Annie’s nose. She kneeled over Annie while the girl was still disoriented and placed her wand right between the girl’s eyes. _“Stupefy!”_

Annie’s head got blasted back, slamming against the ground, but she was only knocked unconscious. Mikasa stared down at Annie, panting. She did it. She casted the spell.

And Annie wasn’t dead.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. “I think that was the right choice, too.” Levi offered her his hand, and Mikasa took it shakily, allowing him to help her to her feet.

Levi tilted his head, staring into her eyes. “…You’re an Ackerman. Aren’t you?”

Mikasa blinked. “How did you know that?”

“I’m one too. Fighting’s in our blood.” Levi brushed past her, patting her arm as he went, and pushed open the door to the room without looking back. “It’s good to find one of my own."

The door clicked shut, leaving Mikasa alone. One of her own. She found another boy with her blood – she found a boy that was her family.

And he was a Slytherin she thought murdered her brother. But he had protected her brother. He had protected her… family.

~~~

Everything was black, and cold, and tight. His lungs burned. He tried to take a breath, but they didn’t expand all the way, forcing him to pant instead. His face felt hot, but his fingers were numb and cold as ice. His breathing stopped, scaring him, but he fought through and took another breath.

Something warm touched his hand. He focused on that, and his breathing began to even out. Where was he? He felt numb, but the warmth touching his hand spread up his arm, and with it came feeling. Sheets. He was under sheets.

Light filtered through from somewhere. His eyes were closed. He tried to open them, but it was like they were glued shut.

A soft voice drifted to his ears. “Is he- Is he moving?”

Eren took a deep breath. That was Armin’s voice, he could recognize it.

His eyes twitched again, but still, he couldn’t open them, although he could see a bit more light. A woman’s voice spoke this time. “He should be alright soon, now that the antidote is taking effect.”

“Should I give him space?” Armin asked, hand loosening. No, no, please, he needed that warmth. He tried to grab tighter to Armin’s hand, and while he couldn’t hold it all the way, he was able to make his fingers twitch. “His hand just moved!”

Okay, he’s okay. If he could open his eyes, that’d be great. “Mikasa! Get in here! I think he’s waking up!”

“He is?” That was Mikasa’s voice. God, his friends are here, and they don’t even know he’s conscious. “Eren? Can you hear me?”

Eren managed a soft noise. It was all coming faster now, the light, the air in his lungs, the strength of his fingers holding onto Armin’s. Finally, his eyes fluttered open.

He was met with a white curtain. He groaned, taking a deep breath, and he managed to shift in bed. Armin was by his side in an instant. “Help him up.”

Mikasa’s face filled his vision, and she smiled, tears tracing down her cheeks. “It’s okay, Eren, we’re just getting you up. Alright?”

“Mikasa…” Eren managed to murmur. Mikasa grabbed one arm, pulling him up, and equally strong hands pulled his arm on the other side. A hand slid beneath his back, helping prop him up on the pillows. “Owww…”

“Are you okay? What hurts?” Armin fussed.

Eren squeezed his eyes shut, pressing the heel of his palm to his eye. “My head hurts…”

“That’s to be expected. Water’s on the bedside table once you’re able to drink it, dear,” Madam Pomfrey said, and she turned on her heel, bustling out of the room. Eren assumed he was fine if she was leaving, just like that.

He held his hand in front of him, moving his fingers like he was unaware how they worked, and let out a sigh. The pain in his head was leaving, and his body temperature was evening out. Whatever that antidote was apparently worked wonders. He closed his eyes. “Okay. Okay, I’m getting it.”

“How are you feeling?” A voice whispered. Eren looked over, seeing Levi standing by his bedside, and oh boy everything felt a hell of a lot better. “Can you move alright?”

“You’re safe,” Eren whispered back. It wasn’t an answer to his question, but he was smiling anyways. “I’m- I’m fine. Yeah, I’m fine.”

Levi’s eyebrows wrinkled. “…Good.”

He reached down, cupping Eren’s cheek. Eren sighed and closed his eyes, thankful for Levi’s thin, cool fingers. Then Levi pinched Eren’s cheek and _pulled_.

“Ow ow ow! Hey!”

Levi let go of Eren to let him nurse his cheek. “Don’t you _ever_ do that again.” Levi kneeled by his bedside, fixing Eren with a glare, and Eren could see Mikasa about to straight-up murder Levi in the background. Levi looked like he was about to grab both of Eren’s cheeks this time. “If you ever do anything like that ever again, I will carry you here, wait for you to recover, then murder you myself.”

Eren rubbed his cheek, sticking his bottom lip out in a fake pout. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Levi’s eyes softened from their harsh glare. “Fuck it, _Eren._ ”

He pushed forward and wrapped Eren up in a tight hug, nearly squeezing the life out of the other boy, but Eren wouldn’t have it any other way. Eren eagerly buried his face in Levi’s shoulder, clutching tight to the back of Levi’s robes. Levi was shaking beneath Eren’s touch. “You have to promise me. Promise that you’ll keep yourself safe. Please.”

“I promise,” Eren murmured. Levi pulled away, and Eren had to suppress a pout. Levi stayed close, though, much to Eren’s appreciation, so that his hand could linger on Levi’s neck. “I promise, a million times over.”

Levi smiled, and Eren’s lungs decided to take a short vacation because goddamn Levi’s smile it beautiful. Levi is going to kill him one of these days. Quite literally, considering Eren was having trouble breathing to begin with. “You better hold to that promise,” Levi murmured. “Because I can and will break your legs.”

Eren’s gaze danced over Levi’s face, a soft smile on his lips. “I’ll be counting on it.”

Levi glanced up, then stood, Eren’s hand falling from his shoulder. Eren finally remembered where he was. And, namely, who he was with.

He turned to Mikasa, an apologetic look already on his face, but she didn’t seem to care. Instead she took his hand into her own with a light squeeze. “I’m glad you’re awake.”

Eren looked up at her with wide eyes, then over to Levi. Levi gave him a small smile and nodded.

Armin leaned in, wrapping Eren up in a hug. “We know,” He whispered. “And it’s okay. We don’t mind. Alright?”

Eren hugged Armin back. But how much did they know? About their friendship? Or about how Eren actually feels? Armin’s hand ran over his back, catching his attention. “…I think I know about you, too. I don’t care. Be with who you want to be. Okay?”

Eren smiled brighter than he ever had before.

~~~

Levi cut up the ingredients to what the recipe in front of him specified before slipping them into the cauldron and giving the brew a stir. He was trying to focus, he really was, but his thoughts kept wandering back to Eren.

It had only been a few potion’s classes without Eren there, barely more than a week, but every day felt like agony. It was like the air next to him had dropped in temperature. He felt like he was missing half of himself.

He ran his finger over the recipe, then he did so again, mostly because he hadn’t read it the first time. He glanced across the room to three empty seats. Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner had been expelled yesterday. They were sent off with mysterious injuries, which they claimed Levi and Mikasa had inflicted, but everyone in Slytherin said Levi and Mikasa hadn’t been through at all that day. They must be trying to get some revenge on the people who reported them, really. Such groundless theories. For shame.

Eren, Armin, Mikasa, and Levi watched them leave together with satisfaction. They had a celebration that night. They held it outside, mostly because Levi couldn’t go into the Gryffindor common room. It was a ton of fun. Eren had snuck plates with extra helpings of dessert out onto the grass, and they played with firework spells.

The whole time Levi could barely keep his eyes off of Eren. In only a few days his skin was back to glowing, and his radiant smile was right where it belonged. He loved every second of it.

Snape called out that something at the back of the room was ready to be picked up. Snape had been going easy on Eren after what had happened. It made sense, seeing as Snape was mostly at fault, even if he had made the antidote that saved Eren in the end.

Levi got to his feet, picking up something that sizzled and bubbled inside its bowl. Gross.

He turned around, eyes still stuck on the bowl of liquid and his thoughts still elsewhere, so he didn’t see the person come up next to him. “Hey, Levi, do you-”

Levi stumbled, crashing straight into Eren. Eren stumbled too, falling backwards, and a stray hand grabbed Levi’s cloak and dragged him to the ground.

Levi braced his arms on either side of Eren, barely managing not to crush the poor Gryffindor beneath him. Eren let out a squeak. Levi looked down to his chest, where the bowl had tipped over, leaving the fabric smoking and sizzling. “Shit, sorry. I-”

He looked back up and froze. Eren’s face was a hair’s breath away, their noses nearly bumping together, and Eren’s wide eyes were locked on his. Eren swallowed, his gaze trailing down Levi’s features and landing on Levi’s lips. “…Levi…”

Someone in the room snickered. Eren stiffened, quickly averting his eyes. “Are you lovebirds done gawking at each other?” An annoying boy said, and even more students laughed, making Eren flush bright red.

“Sorry, Eren.” Levi pushed away from Eren. Eren was blushing like crazy, hands covering his face. He stayed on the ground out of what Levi thought was embarrassment. “Eren?”

A stray tear rolled down Eren’s cheek. Levi blinked. “…Eren?”

“I’m sorry,” Eren whispered. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry, Levi…”

Levi got to his feet and helped Eren up, but Eren didn’t meet his eyes, too busy wiping his tears away with his sleeves. Levi touched Eren’s arm. “Eren, are you okay?”

“I’m- I’m sorry. I can’t-” He pulled his arm away, pressing the back of his hand to his mouth.

“Jaeger, go to the bathroom and clean that off before it burns through your clothes.”

“Yes, professor.” Eren turned on his heel and rushed out the door.

“Wait, Eren!” Levi pushed after him, shoving aside people and hoping he didn’t knock any more bowls over. He faintly heard Snape trying to tell him to stop, but he didn’t care,  too busy weaving his way through the students and throwing the door open. He scanned the empty hallway and spotted Eren walking quickly towards the bathroom. He took off after him. “Eren, wait, what’s wrong?”

Eren jolted, looking over his shoulder at Levi. “What are you doing here? Go back! You’re going to get in trouble!”

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong!” Levi called back.

Eren walked faster, ignoring Levi. “Don’t chase me.” He pulled his cloak tighter around himself. “I can’t keep doing this shit- it hurts too much, Levi. Just leave me alone!”

Levi managed to catch up, but when he reached for Eren’s shoulder, the boy sped up, just out of reach. Levi tried talking again. “Eren, what did I do? I’m sorry!”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Eren replied, shaking his head. “It just… it just hurts. So leave. Okay?”

“Eren, I-”

“Stop following me!” Eren shouted, still refusing to look at Levi. Levi hesitated, but he didn’t stop, just moved faster to try and keep up. Eren shook his head. “I’m telling you, just stop.”

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong,” Levi protested. “Eren, let me help. Please.”

Eren let out a pained laugh. “I told you to stop…”

Levi managed to grab Eren’s shoulder, but the only reason why he was able to was because Eren stopped all of a sudden, whirling around to face Levi. Levi smiled in relief. “Eren, please. Just talk to me, what’s wro-”

“Fuck it,” Eren murmured.

Levi blinked. Eren moved forward, spinning Levi around and pinning him to the wall. Before Levi could recover, Eren’s fingers hooked under his chin and tilted Levi’s face up, and Levi realized just how close his eyes were, so green and bright and beautiful.

Then a light pressure molded to Levi’s lips.

Levi went still, ignoring the way his breath hitched in his throat. He’s pretty sure his brain just short-circuited. Eren’s eyes fell closed, and Levi was pressed back into the wall, like he was melting into the cool stone behind him. Eren’s hands cupped his face, thumbs running over his cheeks and soothing him, somehow. Levi still couldn’t process that Eren’s lips were on his. That Eren was _kissing_ him.

It was over as soon as it started. Eren pulled back, gaze searching Levi’s wide eyes, thumbs tracing down Levi’s jawline. Levi was still, lips parted in shock. Eren huffed out a laugh. “You look constipated.”

Levi could barely register his own words used against him before Eren’s hands were gone from his face. Eren pulled away, turning on his heel and walking down the hall like nothing had happened. Levi blinked. “Wait-”

Eren rounded a corner, out of sight. Levi rushed after him, but by the time he rounded the corner, Eren was gone. The bell to start the next class rang, making Levi jump.

He watched the hallway where Eren had once been as it filled with people. Levi stood still as more and more students pushed by him.

He rested his fingers on his lips. What the hell just happened?

“Eren…?”


	11. Chapter 11

Eren was avoiding him.

At first, Levi didn’t think much of it. They had a week-long break soon, and there weren’t any potions classes leading up to it, so it was understandable if he didn’t see Eren as much. About four days into the break, he started to feel it. Eren would’ve visited him at least once by now, probably more than that, or bumped into him on the grassy hill the school sits on. But still, no sign of Eren. The most he’s seen of Eren is quick glances in the school hallway, but then he would disappear again without seeing Levi.

By day five he was sure. He made solid eye contact with Eren, but as soon as he pushed forward through the crowd to reach him, Eren changed direction, guiding his friends down a side hallway and away from Levi. It was then that Levi knew it was deliberate.

Why did that hurt so much?

Petra had decided to help him out, to get him food, like Eren usually did. At some point Levi shrugged her off and got the food for himself. It just didn’t feel right with Petra getting it, even if he knew she had good intentions.

Ymir had started laughing at him for being too twitchy, but she quickly stopped as the days went on and he didn’t get much better. He wanted to do things he’d never really thought about before. It was like Eren had been a given. He didn’t realize how much he had taken for granted.

At first, he just missed talking with Eren, but that was normal, because very few people talked to him as casually as Eren did. Then he wanted to touch him – just little things, ruffle his hair, pinch his cheek, fix his robes. Even just have Eren lean against his side or fall asleep, like he always did.

Then he realized he wanted to kiss the Gryffindor.

On the last night of break he bolted upright out of bed as the realization hit him. He wanted to kiss Eren. Fuck, he really, really wanted to kiss Eren. After a moment of heavy breathing and trying to gather his wits, he laid back down, staring at the curtains of his bed until the birds started chirping outside. He didn’t sleep a wink.

The end of break rolled around and he finally had another potions class. Only, when he walked in that day, Eren was out with a cold. Levi made his potion in painful silence. His heart felt like someone had grabbed it and was squeezing as hard as they could until it was close to bursting.

It was hard to get through the rest of that day.

Eren had even begun plaguing his dreams. They started nice, just him and Eren together, sometimes holding hands, sometimes kissing, and sometimes… more. Every night he would wake up in a cold sweat. He wasn’t sure how long this could keep happening.

This is the first time Levi’s ever wanted someone so badly. The kiss Eren gave him before, just that small brush of lips, was nothing and everything to Levi. He was hooked on the moment, playing it over again and again in his head. He wanted more. He wanted it again, and please again after that, and over and over as many times as he could until neither of them could stand it.

Fuck, he’s fallen _hard._

The next potions class he got his hopes up only for them to be crushed again. Eren had moved tables so he was with Annie’s old partner. He said it was because he wanted to help out until there are new seating arrangements, and Snape let him, because he was still repaying Eren for what happened.

The desk was also closest to the back, so when the bell rang, Eren was out the door before Levi could even think about chasing after him. He was right there, beneath Levi’s fingertips.

It dealt a crushing blow to Levi.

One day he woke up and everything around him was swirling. He stumbled his way out into the common room, aiming for one of the three doors in front of him even though he swore there was only one yesterday, before Ymir stopped him and insisted that he went to bed. Levi brushed her off and made it to his first class without too many issues. He was feeling less dizzy with the sleepiness gone, but his brain still felt like mush.

He made it through his first class, even if he didn’t understand a word the teacher said. Portions was his fourth class today – if he could just make it there…!

He collapsed in the hallway on the way to second period.

He woke up in the nurse’s office with a very concerned Hanji, Erwin, and Petra crowding around him. Levi looked at them all in turn, then asked, “Shit, what time is it?”

“Third period,” Hanji said.

He tried to get out of bed but had to be restrained by all three of them. He yanked at his arms, but Petra held them down, unmoving. “I can still make it to fourth period! Just let me go!”

“Madam Pomfrey said you’re here because you’re too stressed,” Petra said, pushing down on his shoulder. “You need to rest, Levi. She’s not going to let you out until tomorrow.

Levi fell back to the bed. Another potions class – gone. His chance to see Eren again, even if he couldn’t speak with him – gone.

He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, all of his strength evaporating, and the sickness only adding to his feeling of hopelessness. He felt like he was sinking. Down, down, until he was going to be gone.

Madam Pomfrey came by and insisted he go to sleep, but he refused. Eventually they had to force-feed him the magic equivalent of a horse tranquilizer and he passed out on the bed.

When he woke up it was the late afternoon. The sun filtered down, casting shadows over everything and painting the room red. He rubbed his aching head and tried to wake himself up. It was then he noticed a few pieces of candy sitting on the bedside table.

He reached over to the table, plucking up a chocolate frog and flipping it over. A note was stuck there.

_Get better soon!_

_-Petra_

Levi looked at the box for a long moment, then squeezed his eyes shut, pulling his knees to his chest. He felt heavy. He didn’t know if it was because he was sick, or if it was because he just woke up, or if it was because his heart felt like it was three times heavier as of late.

He was certain of one thing, though. Chocolate frogs had always been his favorite.

And this isn’t Petra’s handwriting.

He closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. Warmth pooled in his eyes, tears slipping down his cheeks, and he couldn’t help but wonder when he had last cried. How long ago was that? He couldn’t remember anymore.

“Fucking hell, Eren…” Levi whispered, letting out a breathy laugh.

He was falling apart. He was a wreck, he knew. He couldn’t let this keep going on.

And he wouldn’t.

~~~

Eren groaned and scrubbed harder at the dirty chalkboard. It was his fault for falling asleep in transfiguration (the ultimate crime), but cleaning wall-to-wall chalkboards without using _any_ magic was just plain cruel, considering he only dozed off for a second. It was almost dinner time, and he still wasn’t done.

He sighed and moved on. Levi got out of the nurse’s office a few days ago. Eren had been trying to give Levi space, or, in other words, he was avoiding the Slytherin. He swore to himself he wouldn’t bug Levi again, but when he heard Levi was sick, he couldn’t help but drop by and leave some of Levi’s favorites. He signed as Petra, but he doubted that fooled Levi for a second. It was better than signing with his own name, though. He wasn’t sure what else to put.

He set the towel down, flexing his aching fingers. Again, cruel and unusual punishment. He wasn’t going to be able to write for a week because of this.

He looked over his shoulder to see his books still stacked high on his desk. Ms. McGonagall hadn’t let him clean up before she set him on the chalkboards. But Ms. McGonagall wasn’t here now, and the teetering pile of stuff was bugging him, so he decided to take a short break from cleaning and give his fingers a rest by putting away his stuff.

He packed up his books, barely managing to cram them into his bag, and was starting in on his papers when the classroom door clicked open.

He ignored it, putting away his last scroll instead. Then he looked up and froze.

Levi stood in the doorway, eyes wide, and Eren felt that jolt of pain through his chest that he always gets when he sees Levi. “…Eren…?” Levi breathed.

Eren looked back to the table and started to clean up his quills with much more speed than before. “Ah, sorry. Did you need something? I was just cleaning up the chalkboards, so I’ll-”

“Eren,” Levi murmured. Eren jolted and whirled around at how close Levi’s voice was. As soon as he turned, Levi grabbed his collar, his eyes narrowed on Eren’s face.

A low growl resonated in Levi’s throat, then he shoved Eren back into the desk without letting go of his collar, making Eren stumble. “Levi, I’m- I’m sor-” Levi cut him off, slamming him down onto the desk. Eren gasped, so many apologies he tried to whimper out getting caught on his tongue, but Levi had leaned in and locked his lips over Eren’s.

He pulled back, eyes darting over Eren’s face. Eren’s breath caught in his throat. Levi’s beautiful silver eyes were inches away, so close he could find small flecks of blue, and they were staring at him with such animalistic intensity it made Eren shiver. Levi’s lips still ghosted over his, right _there_. Eren swallowed. “Levi…?”

Levi kissed him again, harshly. Eren’s head banged against the desk, which hurt, but he couldn’t find the strength to care because _oh my god Levi was kissing him_. Levi moved his lips over Eren’s, never staying in one place for long and somehow drawing Eren closer.

Eren squeezed his eyes shut. It felt hot, like he was melting into the desk beneath him in the best kind of way.

He realized he wasn’t kissing Levi back. He quickly remedied that.

He looped his arms around Levi’s neck, feeling Levi’s warmth seep through him. He accidentally parted his lips, and Levi didn’t waste the opportunity to slip his tongue into Eren’s mouth, pulling Eren closer and making the Gryffindor let out a muffled sound of surprise. Eren immediately reciprocated, unable to stop his eagerness. It felt wonderful.

It’s been weeks since he’d seen Levi, and he’s been waiting for this moment for months now, but never did he imagine that it would happen. And an even bigger surprise was that _Levi_ started it.

Levi pressed himself against Eren in just the right way to make Eren let out a pleased moan, which only seemed to spur Levi on more. Levi was practically devouring him whole, like he was starving. Eren could barely keep up.

Eren pulled himself away with a gasp. “Levi- Levi, I can’t breathe-” Levi reeled him back into another kiss. Eren let out a needy whimper, and it took all his self-control to place his hands on Levi’s shoulders and give him a light push. “Levi!”

Levi grabbed Eren’s wrists and pinned them to the desk above his head. Eren whimpered, wriggling beneath Levi, especially as Levi leaned down to press kisses to Eren’s neck. He licked just beneath Eren’s jaw, biting down hard enough to make Eren moan.

“Levi, please…” Levi’s gaze shot back to Eren. Eren bit his lip, glancing between Levi’s wild eyes and letting out a whimper. Levi’s expression softened.

His hand slipped away from one of Eren’s wrists, trailing down to cup Eren’s cheek so he could press a kiss to his lips, slower and sweeter than the others. And when he pulled away, he left their foreheads pressed against each other’s. “You can’t… you can’t just _do_ that.”

Eren cupped Levi’s face in his palm. “Do what?”

“Just… up and leave,” Levi croaked. He slid his hand up Eren’s wrist, lacing their fingers together. “I never realized…” He closed his eyes, burying his face in Eren’s neck and squeezing Eren’s hand. “I never realized how much I needed you until you were gone. I-I don’t ever want to lose you again, Eren.”

Eren felt the sting of tears welling up in his eyes. He held tight to Levi’s hand in return, fighting the thickness in his throat. “I won’t- I won’t do something like that again. I’m so, so sorry Levi.” Levi raised his head from Eren’s chest, but avoided his eyes, and Eren realized tears were tracing paths down Levi’s cheeks, too.

Levi swallowed. “I want- I need you, Eren,” Levi whispered. “Can I- can I be with you? Like this?”

“Yes. God, yes.” Eren pushed up so their lips could ghost over each other’s once more. “I want to be with you- I need you, too, Levi. So fucking much. You- you don’t even know.”

Levi’s eyes fell closed and he kissed Eren once more. It was short, and sweet, and when they pulled back, Eren was smiling the biggest he’d ever had. His heart pounded in his chest, like it was aching to get out. He didn’t mind it, though. Levi was here. Then the most amazing thing happened.

Levi beamed, catching Eren by complete surprise. He looked so relieved and happy and soft, all at once, and Eren wanted to hug Levi tighter than ever before.

So he did.

Levi held him tight, leaning back so Eren could sit upright. “Sorry for pinning you to the desk,” Levi murmured.

“I don’t care. It was worth it.” Eren held Levi’s face, gaze looking over his features, then he pulled Levi into another kiss. “Yeah, it was so worth it.”

Levi glanced to the side, frowning. “Were you cleaning the chalkboards?”

“Fuck, don’t remind me,” Eren groaned. He had forgotten about his stupid detention. But of course when he actually has a moment to stay with Levi after so long, it just has to be looming over his head. “I still have so much to do, goddammit.”

Levi turned back to Eren. “Do you want help?”

Never mind, Professor McGonagall is a godsend. Uninterrupted time with Levi after weeks of not speaking with him? Sounds amazing, even if they wind up cleaning chalkboards because of it.

“Please,” Eren laughed.

Levi kissed him again, whispering, “Anything for you.”

Fuck, Eren’s heart was dead. Levi helped him off the desk, and they were already filling each other in on what happened in the past weeks as they walked to the chalkboards. It didn’t matter if Eren’s fingers were aching still. Levi was there, and they were talking about the same things, and nothing else mattered.

“Oh, thank you for the chocolate frog,” Levi murmured, scrubbing at the leftover chalk dust.

Eren sighed. “Of course. I’m sorry I signed as Petra.”

“I don’t mind.”

Eren smiled, then he stopped. “Wait a sec, are you still sick?”

Levi didn’t even look at Eren, he just kept on cleaning the board. “Oh, yeah, I’m terminally ill. Forgot to mention that, sorry.”

“Leviii!”

“You probably have three days left, if you need to rearrange any plans.”

“Levi, you better be joking!”

“Don’t worry, I’m all better.”

“Thank god.”

“…Mostly.”

_“Levi!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for sticking around!


End file.
